THE BARN
by Donna McIntosh
Summary: Lureen throws Jack out, he makes his way up to Riverton to Ennis; and the two of them take off together. Their lives take many twists and turns, but they live it together as best they can.


Title: THE BARN

Author: Donna McIntosh

Fandom: Brokeback Mountain

Genre: Slash

Rating: Adult

Disclaimer: I make no money from these stories. These characters belong to Annie Proulx. I just let em have a little more fun than she did.

Beta: Only the very best Beta in the entire world; MIKE!

CHAPTER ONE

September

Ennis stopped at the grocery store on his way home from work. It was Friday, and he just got paid. He was tired. The new manager out at the ranch fired three men, and the others had to take on their duties. That meant a lot more work for the remaining workers, at no increase in pay. The foreman had been promising to do some hiring, but changed his mind when he was able to get the same work done, with fewer hands.

Ennis had determined to start looking elsewhere for work. Not that it would be easy with the recession going on, and it was nearly fall. Nobody hired ranch hands during the fall. He'd have to remember to get a Sunday paper so he could check the want ads. It was nearly dark when he pulled into the trailer park; tired, hungry, and stressed out.

"Oh shit!" He grumbled as he approached his trailer. He could see someone huddled up on his steps, head down on his knees; looked like he was sleeping. This wasn't unusual. Drifters often came through the trailer court looking for a hand-out, a meal, or a place to sleep for the night. If he had the fixings, he'd usually make them a couple sandwiches, and send them on their way. He remembered after they lost the ranch, he and K.E. spent many nights in the same shape. He'd help if he could, but he never let any of them inside; even though they often asked if they could use the bathroom, take a shower, etc. He'd always send them off to the gas station just half a mile down the road.

He kept his eye on the guy as he got out of his truck. The closing of the truck door seemed to rouse the guy, and he looked up. Ennis grabbed his bags of groceries, and headed for the door trying not to make eye contact with the man. He figured he'd just fix him up a bite to eat, and send him on his way.

"Ennis?" The voice was weak, but it was un-mistakably Jack Twist!

"JACK!" Stunned, Ennis stumbled backward a bit.

"I need help... food... I'm so hungry." Jack stood up to let Ennis get to the door.

"What the hell happened?" Ennis asked as he unlocked the door, and motioned Jack inside.

"Water please," Jack asked.

Ennis closed and locked the door first, then got Jack some water. "What's goin on, what happened?"

Jack drank the entire glass down and handed it back.

"Jesus, Jack; you look like hell. I didn't see your truck; what the hell's goin on?"

"I need to sit down." Jack reached out for something to steady himself. "You got anythin to eat? I haven't eaten in four days."

Ennis stared at him, dumbfounded for a minute before he snapped into action. Explanations would have to wait. He needed to see to Jack first. He pointed Jack to the chair by the table, then he got busy. He first put a pot of coffee on, then pulled out his frying pan. In minutes he had bacon sizzling in the pan while he quickly put away the groceries he had just bought.

He watched Jack as he worked, and saw that he had placed his head down on his folded arms on the table. He appeared to be sleeping.

The bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee were all ready, so he fixed them each a plate, and carried them over to the table. Jack uprighted himself, grabbed his plate and dug in. Ennis got their coffee and joined him.

He had barely sat back down when Jack had finished his plate, scraping the last bits of egg up with the last bite of toast. He lifted his empty cup up to Ennis and asked if there was any more coffee.

"Sure thing, Bud." Ennis took the cup and refilled it.

Jack sipped his coffee, while Ennis finished his plate, lit a cigarette, and handed it to Jack. He then lit another one for himself. They smoked in silence until their cigarettes were finished.

"She kicked me out, Ennis. Took everything I had – my bank account, my truck – even my wallet, watch and ring. Everything!"

"What happened? She find out about us?"

"No, nothin like that." Jack shook his head.

"How'd you get up here if she took your truck? Shit, Buddy; you look like you walked."

"I did walk a lot. But mostly I hitched."

"That ain't safe. You should a called me!"

"I couldn't. Didn't even have the money for a phone call."

"Well what happened then?"

"It was her birthday, and I forgot all about it. She come into my room before I was even awake, and got into bed with me. It was all a that girlie stink that woke me. There she was with her hands all over me; and I guess I didn't take it too well. Hell, I was half asleep. I didn't know what the hell was goin on. We hadn't been... together like that in so long..."

"So she was expectin a little birthday romance?" Ennis asked.

"She was; and what she got was me pushin her away. I guess I must a give her a little shove cause she slipped over the edge and hit the floor." Jack explained. "She come up off a that floor hollerin and screamin, and I tell you, Ennis; I was lucky to get out a there with the clothes I fell asleep in. I barely had time to snag my boots and jacket. She grabbed up my wallet and keys, and told me to get out, and not to come back. I waited around out back, hopin she'd go on into work, but instead she stayed home. I tried to get back inside the house to get my things, but she had all the doors locked. I told her I just wanted my truck keys and I'd leave, but she said I come to her with nothin but the clothes on my back, and that's the way I was leavin."

"So you started walkin?" Ennis couldn't believe his ears!

"Uh huh." Jack nodded. "There wasn't nothin else I could do. I didn't have a cent in my pocket, and no where to go."

"You said four days ago – you been on the road all this time?"

"Uh huh. I haven't eaten or slept since then."

"Jesus!" Ennis swore. "What're you gonna do? You want me to drive you over to your folks place?"

"NO!" Jack voice raised for the first time. "I can't go there. Dad's been tellin me for years that one day she was gonna find out about me, and throw me out. I can't let him know that he was right."

"So... you got any plans then?" Ennis asked.

"No. I just knew that I needed to get up here to you. I figured you could help me decide what to do."

"You're dead on your feet, Jack. This is no time to be makin any important decisions. Why don't you jump in the shower, you can use my razor. I'll find you somethin to wear, and then I think you need to get some sleep."

Jack's eyes filled with tears as he choked out a few words. "I knew... I knew if I could just get up here to you..." He couldn't go on.

"Come on, Bud. Time to hit the shower." Ennis showed him where everything was, then dug out a pair of pajamas. While Jack was cleaning up, Ennis straightened out the bed, fluffed the pillows and washed up the dishes.

Jack looked haggard, but more like himself when he came out of the bathroom. He donned the pajamas and climbed into bed without a word.

Ennis grabbed a quick shower, and joined him. In no time they were both fast asleep.

x x x x

"So... you given any more idea what you wanna do, Bud?" Ennis asked the next morning over coffee and oatmeal.

"I got nothin... nobody. I got no where to go." Jack shrugged. "There's nothin I can do."

"You got me, Bud." Ennis assured him. "You did right to come to me. I just wish you could a called me. I'd a come got you."

"I wanted to; but... there was no way."

"You're here now. So you don't need to worry. We'll figure out somethin." Ennis got up and got them each another cup of coffee. "We just gotta figure out what our options are."

"Our' options?" Jack asked as Ennis seated himself back down across from him. "Don't you mean 'my' options? You got it made here; a steady job you love, a nice warm trailer to live in."

"I gotta tell you, Bud. My situation ain't all that great. I'm about to quit my job. So my situation is pretty close to the same as yours."

"Why would you quit? I thought you loved ranch work."

"I do, but about six months ago, we got a new ranch manager. Right off the bat he fired three guys, and the four of us left have been havin to work all hours to make up for it. He said he was gonna hire more, but he never did. We work longer hours, don't get no extra pay, and he's mean as hell, threatening to fire us too if we don't get the work done. The others are talkin about quittin too. I was gonna start lookin for somethin else to do."

"Well that's just not fair. Maybe you could talk to the owner about his choice of manager?" Jack suggested.

"Nah, he lives in Florida now. Wife took sick and he had to move her to a warmer climate. That ranch manager, he's in charge, and what he says, goes."

"Okay; so we both got us a shitty situation here." Jack commiserated. "At least you got your truck. I sure miss mine."

"Well, we got the weekend to decide what we wanna do. Monday's the first a the month, so my rent's due. If we're gonna take off, we should do it before then. No sense wastin what little money I got, if we're not gonna be here."

"Take off? Where could we take off to?" Jack asked. "We got no place to go."

"Well, we can't stay here. Too many nosey neighbors." Ennis warned.

"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry. I never even thought about that." Jack sighed.

"What about a camp ground?" Ennis asked. "We get us a park pass, and we can stay in any state park campground for free."

"That'd do for awhile; but it's almost September. Are you sure you wanna give up your nice warm trailer to camp out in the cold?"

"We don't have a whole lot a choices here, Bud. We need to find us a place to stay, that's cheap. With a park pass, we'd have places to go all over the state, and for free. We'd be able to get hot showers, and even buy some groceries.

"Well, I guess it's an option; but remember, I don't have any a my campin gear."

"I know. I got some, but we'll need more. I got about three hundred fifty in the bank, and about eighty left from my paycheck yesterday. The truck's in good shape. I been workin on it a little each month since I got finished with the child support checks to Alma, so it'll take us wherever we decide to go."

"You mean sleep in the truck?" Jack asked.

"Nah; I was thinkin a buyin us a small tent. We got a couple places in town that sells stuff second hand. We got Goodwill, Salvation Army, and there's a sports store that sells used equipment. We'll get us a tent, and a sleepin bag for you."

"What'll we cook on?" Jack asked.

"If we're stayin in a park, they have grills by most camp sites. Otherwise, we build us a firepit." Ennis answered. "Whatever we need, we'll figure out a way to get it."

Jack shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry I got you into this, Cowboy."

"You didn't. It was that manager's fault, more than any one else'. He made me anxious to quit, just at the same time that Lureen decided to end it with you. So we're both in the same boat."

"Only it's your 'boat' now, instead a mine." Jack said. "It was a different story when I had the money to get us set up somewhere."

"Well, don't worry about it. We got a truck in good workin order, and a couple hundred cash money. We'll get by."

"You got an extra pair a jeans I can borrow?" Jack asked. "I guess our first stop should be Goodwill. I know they got clothes real cheap. I'll need a pair a jeans, and we should grab some long-johns if we can find 'em."

"Good idea." Ennis agreed and pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a shirt from his closet, along with some underwear and socks from his dresser.

Jack dressed quickly; anxious to be on their way,

They did really well at Goodwill. They found some tents and it came down to two that were the least expensive – a nice sized older canvas tent; or a newer, but much smaller, nylon one. They chose the nylon one. It would keep them a lot warmer in the cold weather that was not too far off.

They also found a couple pair of jeans for Jack, two shirts, some underwear, and socks. They weren't able to find any long-johns though. They did find a sleeping bag, an axe, shovel, and rake. Everything together came to a little under seventy dollars.

"We did good, Jack." Ennis tried to raise Jack's spirits as they loaded their purchases in the back of his truck.

"Yeah, I guess so." Jack agreed, but he was still down.

"We head on over to Walmart and pick up a few things, then we can take off. It won't take me long to pack; I don't have all that much stuff." Ennis said.

x x x x

At Walmart, they picked up a pair of long-johns for each of them, a tooth brush and razor for Jack, and a few more groceries.

It didn't take them long to pack up Ennis' things. Everything fit into the four cardboard boxes they picked up behind the grocery store. The last thing he took was one of the shelves from the oven.

When Jack raised his eye brows in wonder, Ennis explained, "This will be our grate for times when we're not in a camp ground and have to use a fire pit."

"Oh, okay. Cool." Jack gave a little bit of a grin as they loaded up, and got on the road.

x x x x

First stop Hot Springs State Park, just a few miles southwest of Thermopolis. The park pass cost them thirty five dollars.

"I know it's a lot a money right now, Bud; but it's good for a full year. By then, we'll have somethin figured out, one way or the other."

Their first night was not bad. They fried up some Spam and potatoes for dinner; got some change from the little store, and did a few loads of laundry before hitting the showers, and off to bed.

x x x x

The next morning they sat at the picnic table at their campsite, drinking coffee after finishing their oatmeal.

"That's what we need, right over there." Ennis nodded toward a pickup with a camper on the back.

"Yeah, that sure would be nice all right." Jack agreed with an admiring glance over at it.

"Why don't we build us one?" Ennis suggested.

"With what?" Jack asked, thinking surely Ennis must be joking.

"Whatever we can find." Ennis answered simply.

"And you'd know how to build one?" Jack asked.

"It wouldn't be nothin like one a those, but we could build us somethin to keep the weather out."

"You mean build somethin like a camper shell?"

"Yeah, only not one a them little things where you have to crawl around on your hands and knees. What if we build one big like those campers. Big enough to walk around inside, and a place to sleep over the cab of the truck."

"Where would we find stuff to build with?" Jack asked.

"We need to find a place where some construction is goin on. We might find some scraps a wood we could use. Then there's the county dump, lots a building stuff gets tossed there, and it'd be free for the takin. There's also salvage yards; junk yards. Places full a scrap metal, or old cars."

"Oh yeah; I been to some a those. That's where you go through a bunch a wrecked cars and pick out what parts you want. I used to get stuff for that old truck a mine at places like that." Jack was coming around a little now that they had a bit of a plan, something to do besides sitting around and feeling sorry for themselves.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talkin about. Those salvage yards, you have to pay a little for their stuff, but not very much." Ennis said, glad to see a spark of life return to Jack's eyes. "There's some phone booths up by the office. Let's see if there's a phone book so we can find the dump."

x x x x

"Here we go – Salvage yards." Jack announced as he was looking through a phone book.

"Good. Here, write down the address." Ennis handed him an old envelope and a pencil, after he finished writing down the address of the county dump, he found in the phone book he was looking through.

"I wish we had a map of the city." Jack said.

"Yeah, that would help a lot. C'mon. Let's see if they have one inside.

The campground office didn't have any maps for sale, but there was a big map of the area up on their wall. So Ennis drew a little map to the dump and to the two salvage yards listed. Fortunately, they were all pretty close to one another, just on the outskirts of the southeast side of town.

As they headed in that direction, they came to a construction site where some large building was going up. They stopped.

"Why are we stoppin?" Jack asked.

"These places always have lots a left over pieces a wood that they just toss. Let's see if we can find the boss man, and ask his permission to check out their dumpster."

They walked up to a man carrying a clipboard and looking a little less dirty than the others who were hard at work.

"Excuse me, sir." Ennis approached him. "We were wonderin if maybe we could look through your dumpster for some scrap pieces we might could use?"

"I got no problem with that, long as you don't leave no mess that I gotta clean up." The man nodded. "I appreciate you askin first. Most people just dig right in and take what they want."

"Oh no sir; we wouldn't do nothin like that. We ain't into stealin." Ennis said.

"Well, we got one dumpster right there, and there's another one round back. Help yourself. If anyone questions you, tell 'em Mack said it was okay."

"Thank you!" Ennis said.

"Thanks a lot." Jack echoed.

x x x x

"What are we gonna do with all these short pieces a two-by-fours? They aren't big enough to build anythin with." Jack commented as they loaded up a bunch of odd sizes of wood.

"We're gonna be buildin on the back a the truck, Jack. We're gonna need lots a this wood, all different sizes. Also this is fresh wood – no stain or nothin has ever been on it – so it can be used for firewood."

"I never thought a that." Jack admitted.

"When you're scroungin around for stuff, buildin sites are always great. You just gotta remember to ask first, and don't take nothin that ain't in a scrap pile."

They were just finishing up the second dumpster when they heard raised voices. The guy named Mack, was arguing with a couple of guys; one of them was swearing up a storm, and gave Mack a shove.

"Shit." Ennis said, as he headed over to them with Jack tagging along behind.

Mack was shoved again, and would have taken a fall if Ennis hadn't caught him from behind, and righted him.

"You got a problem, Mack?" Ennis stepped up beside him, glaring at the two men.

Jack did the same on Mack's other side. "Anythin we can help you with, Mack?"

The two men cursed Mack out one more time, then backed away, got into their vehicle and took off.

"Whew!" Mack took a deep breath now that the tension was broken. "I hope that's the last I'll see of the two of them!"

"You think maybe you should call the cops?" Ennis asked. "They might come back."

"Nah; this is my last day. I get off in a couple a hours. I doubt they'll be back before then."

"Your last day?" Jack asked. "You quittin? Looks like there's still a lot a work to be done around here."

"Nah, I'm takin a leave of absence. I'm fixin to have surgery on my back. Them two assholes know that, that's why they were tryin to pressure me. They wanted me to give 'em this load a two-by-fours. These are extras, and due to be sent back for a refund. I know damn well, they'd a kept the refund, and the company would a never got credit for 'em. They did it before; returned stuff and got the supplier to give 'em a cash refund which they kept, then told us it was gonna be sent to us in the mail. We didn't have no proof, but this pretty much seals the deal. We suspected they were stealin, but they were real good at it, and no one ever caught 'em."

"That's a hell of a shame." Ennis said.

"So, did you boys find any wood you can use?" Mack asked.

"We did. Lot's a small stuff." Jack said.

"You need some larger? Like maybe these two-by-fours?" Mack grinned.

"We sure do, but we don't have the cash money to spend." Ennis said, then had an idea. "You don't, by any chance, have some work we could do around here for the next couple a hours, do you? We're hard workers, and it wouldn't hurt to have the two a us around just in case those two men come back. I see most a your men took off for lunch break."

"You're right about that." Mack said. "Damn, I wish I had my truck. I always keep a gun in the glove box. I'm not supposed to be drivin, so my wife dropped me off today."

"I got my rifle in my truck." Ennis looked of to where Mack was staring nervously.

The men were back, and they weren't alone. There was another truck tail-gating them. They turned off the road and into the construction site.

Ennis stepped over to his truck, reached behind the seat and pulled out his rifle. He walked back over to where Mack and Jack stood, and noticed that Jack had picked up a crow-bar. The three of them stood there watching as the men sped through the site, did a few donuts around the area, then took off.

"Oh my god!" Mack gasped.

"They're gone." Jack said with great relief.

"I still think you should call the police." Ennis said.

"I think you're right." Mack said, and headed over to the little make-shift office area to make his call.

"They comin out?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. They should be here before long. I really appreciate the two a you standin by me."

"No problem." Ennis assured him. "I think we should stay right here until the police arrive, and maybe until your crew gets back from lunch. You shouldn't be here alone right now."

"I'd appreciate that." Mack said, removing his hat and wiping his brow. "And I do have a small job the two a you can do for me. See that stack a two-by-fours over there? You can haul them off for me."

"You want us to return 'em for you? We'd be glad to." Ennis said.

"Where'd you need 'em taken to; Home Depot?" Jack asked.

"Nah; keep 'em. There ain't but thirty or forty of 'em. We're finished with all the framin, so we don't need 'em."

"What would it cost us?" Ennis asked. "For sure, we need 'em; but, like I said, we don't have much cash money to speak of."

"My company uses thousands of 'em so we get 'em for next to nothin. The whole lot of 'em wouldn't bring in but fifteen or twenty dollars. Take 'em. I owe you for what you done for me."

Ennis' mouth dropped open, "But... we only did what the next fella would a done."

"Well, the 'next fella' wasn't around here when I needed 'em. The two a you were. So they're yours if you want 'em."

"Yes sir; we sure do want 'em." Jack grinned.

"You sure you won't get in no trouble with your boss givin 'em to us?" Ennis asked.

"Look here." Mack handed Ennis the clip board he's been carrying. "See what it says across the top." He pointed to the name, MACK'S CONSTRUCTION COMPANY. "I own this company. The only boss I got now a days is my wife, and if it hadn't a been for the two a you, I might a been in a whole peck a trouble today."

About then, the police car drove up, and they had to stay and answer a bunch of questions before they were allowed to leave. They loaded up and headed on back to the campground after Mack's crew arrived back to work.

"So do we head on over to the salvage yards after lunch?" Jack asked after they unloaded, and the two of them worked together making peanut butter sandwiches.

"No. Not yet." Ennis shrugged. "We'd best head for Home Depot. We're gonna need some nails, and about a dozen heavy duty bolts." Ennis sketched his plan out as he talked, and ate his sandwich. "We wanna make sure whatever we end up with is bolted down good."

A quick trip to Home Depot, twenty-five dollars less in their cash, and they were ready to start. The power tools that Ennis had, were hardly ever used. Alma had given them to him, from her father's hardware store, each year for his birthday or Christmas. He was glad he had them now.

"So, you think it's okay to start work, right here in the campground?" Jack asked.

"I don't know." Ennis answered honestly. "We'll get started, get as much done as we can, and if we get asked to stop; we will. My tools run on batteries, and the charger needs to be plugged in. If we get a complaint, we'll load up and take off; find us a place somewhere nice and quiet to work. At least we'll still have this camp site to plug our charger in. They can't complain about that."

"Okay. That sounds good." Jack nodded.

And so the work began. The measuring, the cutting, the hammering and drilling. All with an eye out for anyone watching them. But it was late in the season for camping, so there were few campers around. No one seemed to notice or care what they were doing.

By the end of the second day, they had the framework finished. They were just putting everything away for the night, when the grounds keeper drove up.

"Uh oh." Jack said as they loaded their tools behind the seat of the truck.

"Howdy." Ennis greeted the man.

"Howdy. Frank Andrews here." He reached out for a hand shake as Ennis introduced them both. "You buildin a camper?" Frank asked.

"Uh huh. Somebody complain about the noise?" Ennis asked.

"Nah. We don't have that many campers right now. The few we do have, have a bunch of kids runnin around the place. They're probably more worried about somebody complainin about them, than puttin in a complaint against anyone else."

Ennis and Jack both gave a sigh of relief.

"I see you got it bolted down good." Frank said. "So you don't plan on takin it off and on again?"

"That's right." Ennis said.

"That's gonna be real nice. It's good you got a long bed on your truck. Looks like it's gonna be good sized.

"That's what we're hopin for." Jack smiled.

"I'd like to do somethin like this someday. I'm getting ready to retire, and I'd love to have one a those campers, but they cost too much."

"They are costly." Ennis agreed.

"Well, I'll let you get back to it."

"So there ain't no rules or laws that says we can't do the buildin right here?" Ennis asked.

"I'm just the grounds keeper, so I don't know all a the rules; but I wouldn't think so. The folks who own this place are real nice, easy goin, people. I doubt they'd care, as long as you don't leave no mess, or bother, or endanger the other campers." He climbed into his vehicle. "This place is big enough that if someone don't like the noise their neighbors are makin, they can always move to another spot." He gave them a wave and left.

"That's a relief." Ennis said as they finished putting their tools away for the day. It was time for a shower, and dinner.

x x x x

"So what's our plan for today?" Jack asked the next morning at breakfast.

"Let's hit the dump first." Ennis said as the two of them stashed their breakfast supplies in their tent, zipped it down, and closed the small padlock at the end of the zipper.

They walked around the dump for at least an hour before they found anything.

"What's that?" Ennis pointed over to a pile of something blue.

"Looks like an awning, or a tarp of some kind; but I never seen a tarp that color before." Jack said as they headed toward it.

Ennis began pulling on it. "It's some kind a heavy-duty plastic." Ennis noticed as he kept on pulling it out. "I know what this is." He said. "It's one a those swimmin pool liners."

"It's huge." Jack said as they finally got the entire thing free of the surrounding debris. "Looks like it's got some pretty big holes in it."

"Yeah; but it's big enough – it's just mostly dirty." Ennis said.

"What are we gonna use it for?" Jack asked, stunned that Ennis would think they could get any use out of this big old dirty thing.

"If we can't find wood to enclose our camper; we can nail this over the top and sides. Make kind a half camper, half tent." Ennis explained.

"Oh. That'd work." Jack nodded in agreement.

They brushed as much of the dirt off it as they could before rolling it up and loading it into the back of their truck. They were about to leave, when they came to a pile of pallets. Ennis stopped.

"Pallets." He said, his mind working a mile a minute as he climbed out. "There must be hundreds of 'em." Ennis said as he surveyed the pile.

"Pallets?" Jack asked. "What can we do with pallets? They're not strong enough to build with; are they?"

"Not by themselves, no; but they sure could be used for siding, and any inside building we'll need."

"Yeah, okay. I guess that'd work." Jack agreed. "Why don't we take 'em apart right here. We'll be able to get a lot more in the truck that way, and it'll be less hammering we'll be doin at the campground."

"Good idea, Bud." Ennis clapped him on the shoulder; happy that Jack seemed to be thinking more about their project than about what had happened to him.

Then the work began. They disassembled, stacked, and loaded up as much as they could fit in, then drove back to the campground, unloaded, and headed back to the dump for another load.

"So, we still gonna need this swimming pool liner?" Jack asked as they were unloading and trying to keep their campsite as neat as possible.

"Yeah." Ennis answered. "Let's carry it over to one a those empty spaces and hose it off." He grabbed their hose and they headed out, each carrying one end of the rolled up liner.

"It really is big." Jack commented as they unrolled it.

"Yeah, and those holes look like they're all down at that one end." Ennis commented.

Jack connected their hose, turned it on, and started spraying down the liner as Ennis pulled it out nice and flat.

"I don't see any holes except for those at the end there." Ennis said.

"Looks like it's coming pretty clean." Jack said.

"Uh huh." Ennis agreed as he inspected it closely. "This thing is perfect, Jack. This is gonna be our liner. This goes up first over the entire framework, then the pallet boards on top."

"And that'll keep everythin inside good and dry?" Jack asked.

"Well, we're gonna have to spend a little more money for some caulk, but that stuff's real cheap. Once we get that done, our stuff should be pretty secure." Ennis assured him.

"What are we gonna do for a door? You gonna make one out of the pallet wood?" Jack asked as they turned the liner over, and hosed the other side off."

"We can if we have to, but by the time we get that far along, it'll be time to head out for the auto salvage yard. We might find something there we can use for a door."

They shook as much water off the liner as they could before hauling it over to the campsite right next to theirs and draping it over the picnic table to dry. They grabbed a quick lunch, and headed back to the dump for two more loads of pallet wood. That was all they could fit onto their campsite, so they spent some time going over their budget and figuring out what else they needed.

(They started out with $350 that Ennis withdrew from the bank, plus the $80 he had in cash. That made it $430 to start with, minus the $70 they spent at Goodwill and the $30 at Walmart left them $330. The park pass cost $35, so that left $295. Nails and bolts came to $25 and took them down to $270.)

"We're at $270, Bud; but we need at least two cases a caulk and another box or two a nails. That'll run us in the neighborhood a thirty – thirty-five dollars."

"We should probably start lookin for work." Jack said. "But without any I.D. or references, I don't know if I could get hired on anywhere."

"Let's don't worry about findin work right now; let's just concentrate on gettin our camper livable. We can always find some kind a work later on. With the camper enclosed, we can get us a little electric heater for when the weather turns colder."

"Oh, that'd be good." Jack agreed.

They made a run to Home Depot, spent $28, and called it a day. ($270 – 28 = $242 left)

CHAPTER TWO

The next morning they got to work. The liner was wrestled up into place after careful measuring, and cutting off the end with the holes. They trimmed it to the right size, and nailed it into place. The backside where the door was going to go was left open temporarily so they could get in and out.

"There's really gonna be a lot a room in here." Jack commented. "That extra eighteen inch hang-over on each side makes it down right roomy."

"I don't know about 'roomy', but it'll give us a lot better livin space than that tiny tent." Ennis grinned.

The pallet boards worked beautifully, with a nice bead of caulking between each piece. By dusk, they had the entire thing enclosed.

"Wow; it don't look half bad." Jack stood admiring their work. "Shouldn't we cut some windows in it though?"

"Not until we find some windows. I'm hopin we'll find some when we hit the auto salvage yard."

"So that's where we head tomorrow?"

"Yeah; I guess so." Ennis stood there examining their creation.

"What?" Jack asked. "We need somethin else first?"

"I was thinkin." Ennis said as he poured them each another cup of coffee. "I wonder how much insulation costs. It sure would be nice to have it insulated."

"Won't that plastic liner do the trick?" Jack asked.

"It'll help some, but there's nothin like insulation to make a place snug." Ennis said, still staring at the camper. "It wouldn't take all that much. Maybe we should check it out, and see how much it costs."

Instead of heading for the auto salvage yard, they hit Home Depot, did a little figuring and found out they could fully insulate for twenty dollars. They bought the four rolls, headed back to the campground,

and got busy. By noon they were finished. Over sandwiches, they had their first discussion about the inside. They decided to line it all, including the floor, with the rest of the pallet boards. By sunset, they were finished.

"Man, this is really turnin out great." Jack bragged. "And there's tons a room in here."

"Yeah, there's just one more thing it needs." Ennis said as they were looking around inside the camper. "Some stain for this pallet wood. I'd feel a lot better about it, if we could stain at least the outside. Otherwise the weather would get to it before long."

"Is stain costly?" Jack asked as they climbed out.

The grounds man drove up then, stopped and got out. "Wow; you're comin along great!" He enthused. "I come by to see if the two a you might be interested in a part time job here at the campgrounds?"

"What kind a job?" Ennis asked.

"My buddy and I are both scheduled to start our week's vacation day after tomorrow, and the two guys who were supposed to come in and look after things for us, just called in and said they weren't gonna make it. Their car broke down, and they're stuck in Denver."

"What would we have to do?" Jack asked.

"Mostly just ride around and keep an eye on things. This is a big campground, and mostly it just takes seein that nobody's havin any troubles with equipment; the connections, showers, etc."

"And we'd need to do the repairs?" Ennis asked.

"Oh no. We got all kinds a people to take care a that stuff. There's a bunch a phone numbers up at the office. If you find a plumbin leak, you call the plumber listed. Same with the electricity. If there's a light bulb out somewhere, you could change that. Any big limbs down, you can haul them off if they're in the road way. And if there's any real trouble, you'd be expected to call the police. Like I said, it's mostly just drivin around and seein that everythin is runnin the way it's supposed to."

"And we'd get paid?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. Same as we get. A hundred a week, cash money." He watched the two of them as they pondered the offer. "I know you're in the middle of this camper project, but you could still work on it. It's not like you'd have to be driving through constantly. A couple two or three times a day would be plenty. If you want, the two a you could come with me tomorrow morning while I make my rounds. You could see. There's really nothin to it this time a year."

"All right." Ennis said. "We'll come with you in the mornin and check it out."

"Good deal." Frank said. "We'll see you in the mornin then. I'll introduce you to the office people, and show you around. He got in his truck and left.

"Two hundred dollars!" Jack grinned.

"Yeah. It couldn't come at a better time, Bud; cause the more I think about it, the more I think we really should get some stain. We don't want that pallet wood to start rottin out with the winter weather comin on."

"Well, we got the money now. Let's do it." Jack agreed.

x x x x

The next week flew by. There was not one single problem, and they made three passes a day; one first thing in the morning, one right after lunch, and the third at about dusk. The rest of the time, they spent working on their camper.

They got a real good deal on stain and were able to give the camper, inside and out two coats for thirty dollars. An afternoon at the auto salvage yard, was pretty much futile. As they were about to leave empty handed, the clerk asked them what they were looking for. When they explained what they were after, he asked them if they'd seen the motor home that was at the far west side of their lot. They hadn't. He told them where it was located and they headed out looking for it.

An hour later, they hauled their load up to the cash register. Two long narrow windows, a door with a window in it, a king-sized mattress, the dinette table and cushions, the porta-potty, and a few other small items. Total cost, $75.

"I sure hope there's no trouble for us gettin paid." Ennis said as they headed back to the campground. We're down to just a little over a hundred left."

"Oh I don't think there will be." Jack said, still in a euphoric mood with all they found. "Frank seemed pretty honest and straight forward."

"Yeah. Even if he don't come through with the money, the stuff we got will just about finish off our camper."

"That mattress looks comfortable." Jack said.

"Yeah, it's gonna be a lot more comfortable sleepin for us." Ennis agreed.

"And now we got our own toilet." Jack said.

"Yeah, that'll be real nice to have. In the mornin we need to hit the dump and get some more a that pallet wood so we can build us in a little bathroom, and some seats to go with that table. It's a shame those camper seats got all busted up."

"Uh huh. It looks like that motor home took a hit head on." Jack said.

"Yeah. Too bad. They probably had it fully insured though." Ennis said as he drove. "If Frank does come through with the two hundred cash, I wanna go back to the salvage yard. There's some more stuff we can use. I didn't wanna try and get it this time, because I wasn't sure we'd get the money."

"What else do you want? Looks like someone already got the stove and refrigerator."

"I was thinkin a that little sink, and some a those over-head cabinets. They'd be nice to have. And I think I can repair the split in that bathroom door."

"What are we gonna do about somethin to cook on?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. Just keep lookin, I guess. Until then, we've got the campground grill; or if we leave there, we'll have to use a fire pit."

"At least we'll have a real nice place to stay in." Jack reasoned. "A great place to sleep, and keep the worst of the weather off. I tell you, Cowboy; I been cold and alone before, but nothin as bad as those four days it took me to get back up here to Wyomin. I thought for sure I'd freeze to death, it was so cold nights. Especially in Denver. By the time I got that far... I was ready to drop. I spent the night there on a park bench. A couple a guys come up to me and tried to rob me. I was so out of it, I started laughin. I told 'em to go ahead. I didn't have a thing for them to steal. They took turns searchin me, and they probably thought I was crazy, but I couldn't stop laughin. They finally took off."

"Jesus, Jack. You call the police?"

"What with?" Jack gave a sad little chuckle. "It did wake me up some, and I decided it was best to just keep on walkin."

"Don't think a that no more." Ennis reached over and gave Jack's arm a squeeze. "Fore you know it, we'll have us a nice warm camper to sleep in."

The mattress had a couple tears on it. Ennis closed them up with some duct tape.

"This looks like a real good mattress." Jack said as they shoved it up in place on the bunk.

"Uh huh." Ennis agreed. "Let's get to work closin up the back now that we have a proper door. Once we get that done, we can put the two side windows in."

"It's a shame that bunk window was busted." Jack said. "That would have given us light on all four sides."

"Yeah. Maybe we can find one later on. I doubt we saw but half a all they got out there. I didn't even see that back part. No tellin what we could find." Ennis said.

"We got two more days before Frank gets back. We can go back then and spend as much time goin through the place as we want." Jack said as they got to work.

x x x x

By sundown, they had the back closed up, and the door installed, before they had to take off for their nightly round. There was only a scattering of campers, and they were spread well apart. Everyone seemed to be minding their own business, so they had no problems at all. They had time before dark to stain the back wall, inside and out.

The next morning, after their rounds, they got the tiny three-foot square bathroom built in, just to the left of the door. It was easy to install the porta-potty as the bathroom had no front or door on it yet. Next came the table and bench seats. That gave them the chance to use up the last of their small pieces of two-by-fours and pallet wood that they had collected. That was all they had room for on the left hand side of their camper.

"And the table folds down?" Jack asked.

"It does." Ennis pushed the button on the pedestal, and the table slid down to the seat level. "You put the cushions down, and you've got another bed."

"Oh wow. That's great!" Jack said. "So what are your plans for the other side?"

"I wanna build us a pantry here by the door, and maybe a little cabinet for the sink on the other side."

"Okay. What are we gonna do about plumbin for it? You know how to do that?" Jack asked.

"Not really. I was thinkin maybe we could find us a pail and set under the sink. Maybe get one a those water jugs with a spigot and mount it above. That way the water would just pass through the sink, into the bucket. We'll just have to remember to empty it all the time."

"That'd work. We could pick up a plug for the sink, so it would hold water if we wanted." Jack suggested. "They shouldn't cost much."

"Good idea." Ennis said. "And we're gonna have to spend some a that money, Frank owes us, at the grocery store."

After lunch, they were just finishing up installing their two side windows when Frank drove up.

First thing he did was hand each of them five twenty-dollar bills, and thanked them profusely for helpin them out. He asked how their camper was coming along, and was amazed by what they had accomplished when they showed him around inside.

"You fellas do real nice work." He said as he climbed out. "You ever do any paintin before? You did a real good job with that stain."

"Yeah, we both done some paintin." Jack answered for the both of them. "You got somethin you need painted?"

"I do; and I hate paintin with a passion. Up front, they got a store room in the back a the grocery store. They been after me to paint it for months now, and I been puttin it off cause I hate it so much. Would the two a you be interested in the job? I told 'em after I got back from my vacation I'd look into findin someone to do it. It'd be another hundred each for you. What do you think?"

"We gonna have to move all a the stuff out and then back again?" Ennis asked.

"No; we'll take care a that. You just let me know when you wanna do it, and I'll see to it that the room is empty. All you'll be expected to do is paint. Ceiling, woodwork, walls, all one color."

"All right. We'll do it." Ennis said.

"Great!" Frank said. "We already got the paint and supplies. When you wanna do it?"

"The sooner the better." Jack said.

"Okay. We'll get the room emptied tomorrow, and you can paint day after."

"Fine. We'll be up at the office, day after tomorrow, first thing in the mornin then." Ennis said with a nod.

"They don't open the office until nine." Frank said as he climbed back into his truck. "Any time after that will be fine."

"We'll be there at nine." Jack said.

"Hot dog!" Ennis said with a grin after Frank drove off. "Just what we need."

"Uh huh." Jack agreed. "Now we can load up on groceries."

"Let's hold off on that until we get the pantry built." Ennis suggested. "Let's head on over to the auto salvage place and see what else we can get out a that camper."

x x x x

They came back with cabinets they installed over the dinette and in the bathroom. The ones over the bunk had been completely destroyed in the crash so they couldn't get those. They also brought back the bathroom door, a tiny window for the bathroom, and the remains of a three-foot wide pantry, with shelves.

Another day's work, and they were pretty much set up.

The paint job for the office store room went easy enough, and they were finished by noon.

After lunch, they hit the grocery store and purchased everything on their well thought out list.

"So we can move into our camper now?" Jack asked as they returned to the campsite and unloaded their groceries into their new pantry.

"Yeah, let's." Ennis agreed as a storm looked like it was brewing.

They ate a cold meal that evening, as it was far too windy for a fire, and it was sprinkling on and off. They did just barely have time to bring most of their stuff out of the tent and into the camper though before the bottom fell out.

"We need to do somethin about some light." Jack said as they sat in the near darkness, their one flashlight their only source of light.

"Well, we got those two lamps we got packed. But we need to pick up a out-door extension cord before we can use 'em." Ennis explained.

"Wow, listen to that wind!" Jack said. "I'm sure glad we're not out there in that little tent."

"Yeah; me too. We got this place ready just in time." Ennis agreed. "I'm ready to turn in; how about you?"

"Uh huh. Sleepin on a mattress is gonna feel really good." Jack said as they climbed up onto the bunk. It took a bit of fumbling to get their sleeping bags situated the way they wanted them, but soon they were stretched out, enjoying the comfort.

x x x x

The next morning they checked the camper out inch by inch to see if there had been any leaks from the storm. There wasn't.

"Amazing." Ennis said.

"You're the amazing one, Cowboy. You dreamed this whole camper up, and put it together for next to nothin."

"I didn't do it alone, Bud. You were there workin with me, every step of the way."

Jack gave him a hug, "C'mon. Let's get some coffee goin. I'll get the fire started."

It was damp and nasty outside, so they ate their breakfast, inside sitting at their new dinette.

"This is so much nicer than the picnic table." Jack said as they ate in comfort. "I just wish there was some way we could cook inside."

"Yeah, Bud; I been thinkin about that. Let's go check out the scrap metal yard. We might be able to fix somethin up. Maybe even find somethin we could cook on."

"I wish I still had my little Coleman stove." Jack said.

"We'll come up with somethin." Ennis assured him. "Maybe we could find an old bar-b-cue or some kind a metal box, or one a those big old roastin pans, that we could build a small fire in. We could rig up somethin for it to sit in, and we got that stove shelf we brought from the trailer we could use over it as a grate. We couldn't use it inside, but we got a bunch a that pool liner left; maybe we could rig up an awnin or somethin overhead, so we could use it even in bad weather."

"That'd work." Jack nodded in agreement. "But it'd still be cookin out in the cold."

"Yeah, I know, Bud; but it's not like we spend all that much time cookin."

"True." Jack agreed. "How much do you think a hot plate would cost? As long as we stay in a campground we're gonna have electricity. Maybe we should look for one."

"That's a good idea, Jack. I don't know why I didn't think a that. We used to have one, Alma and me, when we first got married. We was livin in this little line shack the ranch owner give us. It had electricity, but it didn't have no stove – just a little two burner hot plate. It worked real good."

"Yeah, a buddy a mine – when we were all ridin the rodeo circuit – he had a little single burner hot plate he took with him wherever we went. There'd be maybe six or seven a us guys would throw all our money in together and rent one motel room. We'd all stay the night and cook stuff on that little hot plate. There were plenty a nights when all we had for dinner was coffee or maybe a can a soup diluted with several cans a water fixed on that thing. It sure was good. Saved a bunch a us poor rodeoers from starvin or freezin to death."

"Well, I never bought one, but I don't think they'll be very expensive." Ennis said. "How about this, before we head over to the scrap metal yard, let's hit Home Depot. We need to get us a heavy duty indoor/outdoor extension cord, and a couple smaller ones to use inside. Plus we need to find a pail for under the sink, and a plug for it. I know they got real stoves, so maybe they got hot plates too. We'll look for one."

"And while we're there, let's check out how much a small electric heater will run us. It wouldn't have to be nothin big. Just somethin to take the worst of the chill off." Jack suggested.

"All right." Ennis agreed as they stacked their dirty dishes in the tiny sink. "And let's look for one a them water coolers too. Once we get it mounted over our sink, we'll be all set."

x x x x

Their trip to Home Depot was the most they'd spent in one place. One-hundred-thirteen dollars brought them, three extension cords – one heavy duty that could be used outside – the other two were smaller for inside use. It also brought them a two burner hot plate, a small heater, a pail and plug, and the thing Ennis was happiest about, four eight-gallon water containers, and a ten-gallon one with a spigot.

They were absolutely euphoric on the way back to the campground. The first thing they did was rig up a small hole in the bathroom wall next to the floor, that the extension cord would fit through. They had enough caulk left to seal it good. Next they made a hole in the wall between the bathroom and the dinette so the plug-in part of the cord would reach to the shelf that extended eighteen inches out from the dinette. While Ennis was doing that, Jack opened the hot plate and set it on the shelf.

"This is perfect!" He exclaimed.

"It is for a fact." Ennis grinned after plugging in outside, and watching as Jack tried the hot plate. It started up immediately.

"I don't see where we're gonna store all a these water containers though." Jack said, glancing at the green plastic containers currently residing on the bunk.

"We got all kinds a room in here, Jack. A couple of 'em could sit either side a the porta-potty, and the other two, we can stash under the dinette seats. You'll be real glad we got all that extra water if we camp out somewhere with no water around."

"We should a made the pantry bigger. We got all this empty space here." Jack said.

"Nah, three-feet wide is big enough. That leaves us another three-feet in case we do manage to come across a camp stove we can use in here."

"Couldn't we use somethin like my little Coleman if we just left the window open?"

"Yeah, I suppose we could, Jack; but we'd end up havin to buy those little cannisters a propane all the time. And we're tryin to make this place fit for livin as cheap as possible."

"All right, I hear you. So are you ready to head out to the scrap metal yard then?"

"Let's do it." Ennis said after placing the pail under the sink. "I wanna fill at least one a these containers first and wash up these dishes before we leave." He took the one with the spigot outside and filled it with the hose.

"Let's hope we get as lucky there as we did at the auto salvage yard." Jack said later as they headed out.

x x x x

The place was huge, and they walked for two hours and found nothing they could use.

"Well, shit!" Ennis said. "Let's quit for a while."

"We haven't even covered half the place yet." Jack reminded him.

"I know, but I'm hungry, and I'm tired a walkin around in the mud."

"How about some a those Spaghettios that you like so much, and a nice hot cup of coffee?" Jack suggested as they drove back to the camp grounds. "It's my turn to cook, and I'm anxious to try that hot plate out."

"That sounds real good." Ennis said as they scraped the mud off their boots before climbing inside.

"I'm glad we took the time to fill at least one a these water containers." Jack said as Ennis placed the on the one with the spigot on the eighteen-inch hang-over shelf so Jack could wash.

"Yeah. It's gonna be real handy once we get a little railing on the shelf so it won't fall off when we're drivin."

A nice hot lunch revived them both, and they eagerly set out again.

"I see your boys are back." The old man minding the place greeted them with a smile. "You lookin for anythin particular? I been workin the place now for forty-five years, so I pretty much know what we got and what we ain't."

"We were lookin for somethin like a small bar-b-cue, or metal box-like an old bread box, or roaster pan; somethin we could make over into a little stove for our camper." Ennis explained. "You got anythin like that around?"

"Nah; I don't think so. You boys built that camper yourselves?"

"We did." Jack said proudly.

"How much room you got for this stove you're fixin to make?" The old man asked.

"Couple a feet; why?" Ennis asked. "You got somethin?"

"Well now, I don't know if it'd fit or not is why I asked you first; but we got a little old cast iron stove out there. It's heavy as hell, and you'd need to put somethin metal around it so it wouldn't burn your camper down."

"A cast iron stove?" Jack frowned as he looked over a Ennis. "Wouldn't that be way too big?"

"We got a three-foot wide space. You think it'd fit in a space that small?" Ennis asked the guy.

"Don't know." He reached over and pulled a tape measure out. "Why don't you boys go measure it."

"Can you tell us where it is?" Ennis asked. "We walked for two hours this mornin and didn't see no stoves."

"I can tell you exactly where it's at." The old man stood up and pointed the section out to them. "You see that old red Coca Cola machine over there, about half way back on the west side? That stove is sittin right next to it."

They hurried out and found it exactly where the old man said it would be. Ennis measured it quickly and found it was thirty inches wide and eighteen inches deep. It was a small, two burner stove, that tapered downward to it's pedestal base which sat on four out-turned legs, a good six inches up from the floor. They checked it over and found it complete, even the burner covers and ash pan were still there.

"Oh man, this would be perfect if it wasn't so rusted up." Jack said. "You think we could get all a that rust off?"

"I'm bettin we can." Ennis grinned. "A little elbow grease, a lot a scrubbin, some stove black paint, and we'll have us not only a place to cook, but a heater that don't need no electricity." He lifted one side to see how heavy it was. It took a bit of a struggle to get it loose from the ground that was trying to claim it.

Jack worked the other end loose. "Ugh!" He groaned as they lifted it and carried it up front. "How much you think it's gonna cost?"

"I don't know, Bud. I hope it's not too much, cause if it is, we're gonna have to haul it right back where we got it."

"We'll have to find some metal to put around it, and we'll have to get a smoke stack too." Jack reminded him.

"Yeah." Ennis nodded as they struggled with it. "We can't go no more than a hundred for it. Let's keep that in mind."

They sat it down in front of the old man and asked what he wanted for it.

"Well now..." the old man thought about it for a while. "I'd have to get at least fifty for it. Can you boys go that high? I can throw in the stove pipe and a bit a sheet metal roofin you could use around it. We got a ton a that in last week. What do you think?"

"I think we can handle that." Ennis said after a moment of stunned silence. He pulled out his wallet and paid the man.

"You know, you can clean all a that rust off with a little bit a vinegar and water." The old man said as he showed him to an area close by where there was a huge pile of stove pipe. "And grab you some a that roofin. One a those four-by-eight pieces should be enough"

"Yes, sir; and we do know how to get rid a that rust." Ennis said as he and Jack went through the pile and picked out some stove pipe, and a piece of roofin.

"You sure we don't owe you nothin for these extras?" Jack asked.

"No sir. That's included in the price. You boys need anythin else, you come see me. I'll make you a good deal."

"Thank you sir." Ennis said when they had everything loaded up. "We appreciate it."

x x x x

The next few days were nothing but hard work. They lifted the stove down at the campground, and got to work on it. It took them two days, but it was finally rust free. A quick trip to Home Depot for some Stove Black paint, and Jack got busy painting it, while Ennis worked at putting up the metal sheeting around the area between their pantry and sink. They let the stove sit outside for two days to make sure the paint was good and dry before hauling it back inside and connecting the stove pipe.

"Now we're gonna have to start scrounging up firewood." Jack mock complained.

"That shouldn't be too hard to do." Ennis said as the two of them stood back and admired their stove.

CHAPTER THREE

"Oh, it's Jackie!" Mrs. Twist was all excited as she stepped outside to welcome her son.

But it wasn't Jack Twist who exited the truck that she knew to be her son's. It was a young man, tall as her son, but twenty years younger.

"Grandma?" The young man approached her.

"Bobby?" She went to him with out-stretched arms for a hug. "I'd know you anywhere! You're the spittin image a your father! But where is he?"

"He's not here? Oh Grandma; I was hopin he was here with you." The boy's sad expression scared her, and she worked hard at not showing it.

"Well, c'mon inside. We'll put a pot of coffee on and have us a nice talk." She took his arm and walked him inside to her kitchen table.

"You're grandfather's in town, so we're all alone." She said as she put the coffee on.

"I really thought Dad'd be here with you." Bobby said as he took a seat.

"What would make you think that?" She asked as she joined him at the table.

"You haven't heard from him? He's not stayin here with you?"

"No, Bobby. I haven't seen or heard from him since he was up here in May." She said as she became more worried by the minute. "He's not down there in Childress?"

"No; I mean... I don't think so. I've searched every inch of Childress, talked to all his friends, the guys he worked with, everyone I could think of. No body knows where he is."

"What about your momma, Bobby? Surely she must know."

"If she does; she's not tellin. They had a big fight, Grandma. Momma said he hit her, but I don't believe that for a minute. He'd never hit a woman!"

"Oh dear. I'm so sorry to hear that; but I agree with you, he'd never hit a woman; never!" She reached over and patted his arm.

"She wouldn't say what they were fightin about. And she did have a big bruise on the side of her face; but that doesn't mean he put it there."

"That's right." Mrs. Twist said. "I know my son, just as I'm sure you know your dad. He would never, _ever_ hit a woman."

"She took every thing, Grandma. She took his truck, his wallet, and all of his savings. It was her birthday, two months ago. I should have been there, but I was over in Dallas at school. I came home the day after, and she was on a real tear. I've never seen her so mad."

"And you haven't heard anythin from your dad?" She asked.

"Not a word. I thought for sure, he'd call me, but it's been two months now! I figured maybe he'd borrow some cash from one of his friends, and fly up here to Lightning Flat."

"I'm so sorry, honey. I wish he was here." She got up and got coffee for both of them.

"You're telling me the truth? You haven't seen or heard from him?" Bobby stared at her closely, watching for any deception in her answer.

"Bobby, I know we don't know each other, and have only seen one another in photos; but once you get to know me, you'll know that I do not lie! It's not in me. Just like it's not in your daddy to hit a woman, it's not in me to lie. I have not seen or heard from your daddy since he was here in May."

"I'm sorry, Grandma. I'm just so worried. Where do you think he'd go? Do you have any idea?"

"Why... probably to a friend; I don't really know."

"What about his huntin buddy?" Bobby asked. "I know he comes up here and goes huntin with someone, but I don't know his name or where he lives. Do you?"

Mrs. Twist swallowed hard. "Oh... let me think a minute." She stalled. What if Jack was with Ennis? He'd hate it if Bobby just showed up. But she'd just finished telling him that she didn't lie. "I think his friend's name is Ennis... but he don't live around here."

"Oh Grandma, what am I gonna do. I gotta find him. What if he's out there alone somewhere and needin help?"

"Well now, Bobby; if that were to happen, I'm sure he'd call one of us. You know how friendly and out-going he is. I'm sure he's at one a his friends places, just coolin his heels until he decides what to do."

"You really think so?"

"I do. If anythin bad had happened to him; we'd a heard about it." She hoped.

"So you think maybe I jumped the gun then, and got all worried for nothin?" He asked. "She was gonna sell his truck. That's what was happenin a couple a days ago. Some guys were out lookin at it. Dad loves that truck! He'd never sell it, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I waited until she went in to work, and searched her office. I went through her safe and found his truck keys, his watch and his wallet." Bobby pulled them out of his pocket. "I also found his bank statement, and he had a hundred-twenty-three thousand dollars saved up. And it showed where she had closed out the account. So I took that much money out of her safe, and got a cashier's check for that amount." He pulled out his wallet and handed her the check. "I was gonna see about having his truck shipped up here, but changed my mind and decided to drive it up here myself. I want him to have it, Grandma. It's his."

"Oh Bobby, that's so sweet of you. I know your dad will really appreciate that when we do hear from him."

The phone rang and Mrs. Twist excused herself to answer it. She stepped back into the kitchen a few minutes later, "Bobby, it's your momma. She's looking for you."

"Well, she can't do anythin about it now. The truck's in dad's name; I brought the title and insurance papers."

He answered the phone and spoke in angry, hushed tones for a few minutes before returning to the kitchen.

"Grandma, I've gotta go. If I don't, she'll cancel my tuition funds for next semester; and she can do it. She's got full control of my trust fund until I turn twenty-one next October."

"Oh dear." She wrung her hands, wishing there was some way to help.

"I know there's no airport in Lightning Flat, but do you think I could find a cab, or someone to drive me to Gillette? If I don't come straight home, I'm in big trouble; and believe me, momma can really cause trouble."

"Why Bobby, I'd be proud to drive you to Gillette." She offered.

"Are you sure? Isn't it too far for you to be driving?"

"Oh honey, it's not all that far, and I've driven it a million times." She smiled fondly at him. "It's a shame you couldn't stay at least a few days. It would be so nice to get to know you a little more."

"Yes, it would, Grandma. And I'm gonna do that just as soon as I get access to my trust fund, and when that happens, I can go where ever I want, whenever I want."

"Let me grab my purse." She turned the stove off, grabbed her coat and purse, and the two of them piled into Jack's truck and took off.

They chatted amiably during the forty-five minute drive.

"I brought his clothes, his campin gear, and a bunch of his stuff. I dug around in her files, and made copies of a lot of things; property they own together, insurance papers, their marriage license. Everything that I thought he might need. It's all there in the back seat."

"I just know that your dad will be thrilled when he finds out you brought his things up here for him."

"And you'll call me when you hear from him? I'll be back in school in Dallas, but I have a phone and answering machine in my room." He scribbled down the number on a napkin, and handed it to her. "You will call; you promise? You can call collect." He asked as they got out at the airport.

"I absolutely promise you." She swore. "The minute I speak with him, I'll call you; or better yet, I'll have him call you."

"Oh that would be great, Grandma. I wanna make sure he knows that whatever happened between him and momma, I don't blame him one bit, and it won't change nothin between him and me. You'll tell him I said that?"

"I'll tell him, Bobby."

He gave her a big hug and left.

She could hardly wait to get back home. The minute she walked through the door, she went straight to the phone. She took the little scrap of paper with the phone number on it, she kept in the back of her wallet, and dialed. An automated operator came on and stated that the number she had dialed had been disconnected. She dialed a second time to make sure she had dialed correctly, and got the same recording. She didn't know what to do next. She barely got her coat off and hung up when Mr. Twist drove up. She sighed knowing she'd have a lot of explaining to do about a situation she knew very little about.

She picked Jack's things up from the table after donning her apron, and stuffed them in her pocket.

She turned the fire on under the coffee pot and was getting a clean cup down when Mr. Twist came in.

"Tell Jackie to get after some firewood." The old man hung his hat and jacket.

"Jackie's not here." She said.

"What do you mean 'he's not here'? That's his truck out there; ain't it?"

"Yeah. Bobby brought it."

"Bobby? You talkin Bobby Twist, Bobby?" The old man took his usual seat at the table, and waited for the coffee to be ready.

"Uh huh. He drove it up here so that Jack could have it when he arrives."

"So he's flyin his lazy ass up here, and makin his boy drive all that way?"

"He left ahead a Bobby. We're not sure when he's gonna get here, but when he does; his truck will be waitin for him."

"Why didn't he leave it for Jackie at the airport? And if Bobby brought it – where is he?"

"I drove Bobby to the airport. Lureen called right after Bobby got here, and said he needed to come back right away."

"What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. Neither does Bobby." She brought a steaming cup of coffee over, and sat it down in front of him.

He took a few sips. "That don't make no sense. After all these years; why would Bobby drive all the way up here?"

"I suppose we'll find out in due time." She went back to the stove, took out some pans and got started on dinner.

"Ohhh, I get it now. She threw his ass out; didn't she?" He waited for an answer, but got none.

"I knew it; I knew it would happen sooner or later. She probably caught him diddlin the lawn boy or somethin just as disgustin."

"John, please!"

"Well, tell me then! What the hell's goin on? I got a right to know!" He demanded.

"I already told you all I know. Bobby drove up, came in for a cup of coffee, and said he brought the truck up for his dad. He wasn't here but ten minutes or so, when the phone rang. It was Lureen callin him to get back home as soon as possible. I drove him to the airport, he promised that he'd come back and see us again, said good bye, and left. Now you know as much about all a this as I do."

"It don't make no sense. She put up with his laziness all these years, now all the sudden she kicks him out? She must a caught him doin the nasty with someone. More than likely somebody that works for her, or a neighbor. I knew he'd blow it with her sooner or later. I hope he don't plan on movin his broke ass in here with us. I won't put up with his nasty nonsense any more than she did." He picked up his coffee and headed for the front room and his TV.

Mrs. Twist let out a deep breath, wiped away a tear, and got on with fixing dinner.

CHAPTER FOUR

November

"So how much cash we got left?" Jack asked one evening while they were having after dinner coffee.

"After that last bunch a groceries we bought, in the neighborhood a three hundred." Ennis said as he sipped his coffee. "You needin somethin?"

"I was just thinkin." Jack sighed. "It'll be Christmas next month. I usually send momma and Bobby a little somethin."

"Yeah, I was thinkin about that yesterday. I usually send the girls twenty dollars each in a Christmas card. And it's time I sent another money order to the stables for my horses."

"I wish we could find some little job somewhere; but with me without a driver's license, I don't see that anyone would hire me. Everyone asks for I.D."

"I could get out and try and find somethin." Ennis suggested. "Now that we got our camper fit, we won't be spendin most a everythin we make on it."

"Maybe we should just send 'em a card this year. All three a our kids know how it is with us and money." Jack said.

"I'm worryin what my girls are gonna think when the gifts they send me, come back to them."

"I guess we'd best get to writin some letters then." Jack said.

"Uh huh; wouldn't hurt." Ennis nodded. "I think we ought to get out and look for some kind a work; even if it's part time. Even if we end up shovelin sidewalks or deliverin newspapers, it'd be a few bucks comin in. And all we need is a little money to keep the groceries comin in."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to look." Jack brooded.

x x x x

There really hadn't been all that much snow, so sidewalk shoveling was not much of a possibility; at least not right then, the week before Thanksgiving. They did find some work at a fire-wood lot – each one making twenty dollars a day. The work wasn't bad; there was a chain saw and a log splitter for them to use. So it was mostly them making huge stacks of wood, and loading them into customer's trucks. It was only a couple days a week; but it paid enough to keep them in groceries and gas for their truck.

They ate a quiet Thanksgiving dinner, and afterward worked on their letters to their kids. Jack sent a card to Bobby with fifty dollars, along with a nice letter – being as vague about his circumstances and whereabouts as possible. Then did the same thing for his mom.

Ennis sent twenty dollars in a card to each girl explaining that his job at the ranch had ended, and he was on the move looking for work, so they needn't worry about mailing him anything for Christmas. He said he'd write again when he had an address to share with them.

"We're doin okay." Ennis said one evening just before Christmas. "We got our gifts sent off, to our families. We still got a little money put back."

"Yeah." Jack agreed, but he was in a gloomy mood.

"So what are you so down about? You tired a livin with me already?"

"No, that's not it at all. Actually, it is it." He slumped in his seat across from Ennis at their little dinette. "I waited so long, for so many years for the two of us to get together. I dreamed about it, I fantasied about it; but it wasn't nothin like this."

Ennis gazed around their camper, and up until that point, he had been pretty proud of it.

"Don't get me wrong; I love our camper." Jack said after seeing the expression on Ennis' face. "I just always imagined us on a ranch, celebratin the holidays with the house all decorated, and a Christmas tree tall enough to touch the ceiling, and jam-packed with presents all around. I never in a million years imagined we'd end up poor as church mice, livin in a camper, and wonderin when we'll be asked to move. The sign up front in the office said that the longest anyone could stay was thirty days, and we been here a lot longer than that. They can ask us to move at any time. Where would we go then?"

"To another state park." Ennis shrugged. "We can keep goin from one to another and stay at least thirty days with our park pass. We can even circle back here whenever we want to."

"This mess we're in – it's all my fault." Jack pouted. "I should left Lureen years ago. I had this foolish idea that if I just kept workin hard enough sellin, and savin my money; I'd have enough for a down payment; and once I had a place, you'd agree to come live on it, and help me run it. I should a left when I could a got out with my savins, and the rest a my stuff."

"Jack... there's no sense in bein sad about the past. What's done is done, and can't be changed. What we can do, is start makin plans for the future."

"Plans? What kind a plans, when I can't even get a proper job!"

"First thing we gotta figure out is how to get you another driver's license."

"How am I gonna do that without no I.D.?"

"What about a birth certificate? You think your momma would have a copy a yours?"

"I don't know. I know she gave mine to me years ago. Lureen needed it for taxes or somethin."

"Was it a copy or the original?" Ennis asked.

"I don't know." Jack shrugged. "It looked official to me."

"Okay, then we assume Lureen's got it. So why don't we write off and get you another birth certificate. Once you have that, you should be able to get another driver's license."

Jack stared at him wide-eyed. "Yes! That's right! But wouldn't we need a permanent address though?"

"I don't know that anybody's address is ever permanent. Why don't we get a post office box? They don't cost must, maybe fifteen or twenty dollars for a year. We find out where we need to write to, and give 'em the P.O. box so they can send you the forms."

"That's a great idea!" Jack sat bolt upright. "You got any idea who I write to?"

"Nope. I figure somebody over at the courthouse would probably know. We can ask them."

"Can we do it tomorrow?" Jack asked.

"Sure we can." Ennis grinned.

"We should a thought a this a long time ago." Jack said. "I could a already had my new license."

"Well, we were too busy buildin this camper to be thinkin a much else." It was great seeing Jack happy and excited again.

x x x x

The next day at the courthouse, they were surprised to find out, they had the forms they'd need right there. They were directed to the correct window, where the forms were handed to Jack to fill out.

"What am I gonna do about an address?" Jack whispered as they sat side by side while he filled out the information.

"Just put down the campgrounds."

"You know the address of the park?"

"Uh uh. Just put down 'Hot Springs State Park – Lot 59'. If they don't accept that, we leave and go get a P.O. box and come back."

"Okay." Jack kept writing until he had everything filled out. "What do I do if she asks for I.D.?"

"Stick to the truth as much as you can. Tell her you had a TX license but it got stolen, or you lost it. Whatever you're most comfortable with." Ennis suggested.

Jack took a deep breath, "Here goes." He said and took the completed papers up to the window.

Ennis waited nervously in the waiting area nearby.

The woman behind the window scanned the papers. "You live in the park?"

"Temporarily. I just moved back up here from Childress, TX; so I don't have a place yet."

"Can I see your driver's license please?" She asked.

"Well now, that's where it gets complicated." Jack gave her his best smile. "You see, my wife and I just split up. She grabbed my wallet and took off with it."

"So you don't have a driver's license. Is it suspended?" She asked eying him closely.

"Oh no, Ma'am. That's why I need a copy of my birth certificate – so I can get a new license. I need an I.D. for that."

"I see." She twiddled her pencil as she studied him. "If you have a valid driver's license, we can get a copy of it."

"You can? That'd be great; cause all I needed my birth certificate for was to get another license. I can't even go job huntin without a license for I.D."

"What was your address in Childress?" She asked.

Jack recited it and she jotted it down. "This is going to take a few minutes. If you'll take a seat, I'll call you when I hear back."

Jack joined Ennis in the waiting area, and explained things.

"Good deal, Bud." Ennis said. "Maybe it'll be easier to get your license than we thought."

"Let's hope so." Jack rubbed his hands together as he waited anxiously.

They sat and chatted for the thirty minutes it took before Jack's name was called.

"Okay; here we go." She handed him the copy of his license that had been faxed to her from the DMV. (Department of Motor Vehicles) "Now I can go ahead and put in this request for your birth certificate; or, if the only reason you needed it was to get a new license, you can take this copy to the DMV, and they'll issue you a new license."

"No kiddin? That'd be great!" Jack was thrilled.

"So, new birth certificate or not?" The woman asked.

"Oh, forget about it. This is all I need. Thank you so much!"

"Let's go find the DMV!" Jack's grin lit up the whole room.

x x x x

Things went as smoothly at the DMV as they did at the court house. The bored guy handling his case, didn't even ask any questions. He simply filled out a form, had Jack sign it, and made a new card up.

No eye test, no driving test, no written test. The fact that he had a license in good standing, it was handled as just him getting a Wyoming license to replace his Texas license. In very little time, he was handed his new license.

"I gotta tell you, Cowboy; I feel like a new man! Havin this little card changes everythin." Jack said as they drove back to the campground. "Now I can actually look for work."

"I'm real glad you're happy, Bud; but findin work this time a year, is near impossible." Ennis warned him.

"Yeah, but I _could_ get a job if one was available. That makes all the difference."

As they arrived back at the campground and hooked the electrics up, Ennis noticed that Jack seemed a little down again. "What is it?" He asked as they climbed inside and turned their little electric heater on.

"I just realized – I don't even have a wallet to put this in."

"Hmmmm," Ennis grinned with relief. "Let's have some lunch, and we'll go buy you one."

Jack grinned. "You've got an answer to everythin."

"Most problems do have answers, Bud." Ennis said. "Some are easier than others to figure out."

"While we're in town, let's grab a newspaper and check out the want ads." Jack said as he sat still staring at his new license.

"I didn't realize not havin a license meant so much to you." Ennis said as he placed lunch in front of Jack, and took a seat across from him with his own meal.

"It did. I never would have thought so, but it's true. Without that license, without my wallet and any I.D. at all, it was like... like I didn't even exist any more."

"Well, you got your license now, and in a little while you'll have a new wallet to put it in."

"I can hardly wait." Jack said and dug into his lunch with gusto.

x x x x

He had to wait though, because before they finished lunch, the snow started and blasted down for the next three days solid.

"We gotta figure out a way to store more firewood." Ennis said on the third day. "We're about out."

"Well, we got the electric heater, so it's not like we're gonna freeze." Jack said as he sat at the dinette switching stations on the radio trying to find something interesting to listen to.

"I know, but I really like havin a fire goin in this old stove."

"Ahhhh, the Cowboys!" Jack sighed as he finally found something he liked. A football game, with the Dallas Cowboys playing. "You know, there wasn't a whole lot I liked about Texas, but I did really like the Cowboys."

"What is it with you and cowboys?" Ennis joined him at the table.

"Oh I don't know." Jack grinned. "It was somethin that happened to me a long time ago; when I wasn't but nineteen years old. I met this cowboy up in the mountains, and one thing led to another..."

Ennis snickered.

"And every since then, cowboys just _do_ something for me."

"Well, there better be only one cowboy doin anythin for you now." Ennis said.

"But there are so many beautiful cowboys out there. There's John Wayne, Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, Yul Brynner and...

"Hold it there... Hold it." Ennis stopped him.

"Now most a them names I remember, but Tom Selleck? Isn't he that guy in the Hawaiian shirts that drove the little red car? What western was he ever in?"

"Yeah, that's him. He was in The Sacketts! Didn't you ever see that?"

"I guess I must a missed it." Ennis grinned. It was so nice having Jack in a happy, joking mood again.

x x x x

The snow finally let up and they were able to get out and do a little shopping. Jack took a long time going over all the wallets Walmart had to offer, before deciding on one. They had a long line to stand in, but they didn't care. Even the fast checkout had a long line. But it was Christmas eve, so they didn't care. They were celebrating, and bought a pound of hamburger, some buns, and a six-pack of beer. Plus Jack's wallet.

When they got home, they brought in as much fire wood as they could, and kept a nice fire going the rest of the day and evening.

"Maybe after the holidays are over, we'll stand a better chance of findin some work." Jack said as they enjoyed their beer.

"That's the time most businesses lay off their Christmas help. We may have to wait until spring before we find anythin besides workin at the fire wood lot." Ennis said.

"Let's keep on getting the Sunday papers anyway. Just in case somebody's advertisin." Jack suggested.

"Sure enough." Ennis agreed.

x x x x

Mid January...

"Nobody's hirin in this stinkin town." Jack groused as they made their way back to the campgrounds.

"Well, we could always try another town." Ennis suggested. "What would you think a movin to another campground?"

"Which one?" Jack brightened up a little as they climbed back into their camper, and got the stove going.

"You ever been to Cody?" Ennis asked.

"Been through there a few times, but I don't know nothin about the town." Jack answered as he got the coffee going.

"Accordin to this map, there's a place near there called, Buffalo Bill State Park. We could drive up there, stay in the park, and check Cody out. We might have some luck there findin work."

Jack took a look at the map. "It's not all that far from here. If we don't have any luck, we can always come back here."

"We could; or we could try another park."

Jack spent several seconds looking at Ennis before he spoke. "You're wantin to leave here... did someone say somethin to you? Somethin about the two a us livin together?"

"No, no. It ain't that. I just been thinkin... we been here quite a while. I was thinkin it's probably time to move on before anyone does get to wonderin about us."

"All right. If you think that's best." Jack agreed, not really sure how he felt about leaving the only place they'd ever been together for any length of time.

x x x x

The trip to Cody took less than two hours. They found the park nearly deserted, and picked out a spot in a remote section to set up camp. They hooked up their electrics, got a pot of coffee going, and took a quick walk around the campground collecting downed branches for firewood. They got a nice fire going in the stove, and devoured the want ads from the Cody newspaper they had bought as they came through town.

"There's a couple a salesmen jobs I might could handle." Jack commented. "But those jobs usually pay below minimum wage, and you have to make up the difference with commissions."

"I don't see nothin here that I could do." Ennis said. "They got no ranch work listins at all."

"So do we stay, or find us another park?" Jack asked as he sipped his coffee.

"Let's stay; at least for a while. Tomorrow we can drive around town, and see if any signs are up. Some people don't advertise in the paper."

"True; I suppose." Jack agreed, but his mind was off somewhere as he stared out the dinette window.

"What's on your mind, Bud?" Ennis asked.

"I was thinkin about Bobby, and wonderin what Lureen told him."

"You think she'd make up a story, tell him somethin about you that wasn't true?"

"I don't know. I wouldn't a thought so before; but I never would have believed that she'd go bat-shit crazy on me like she did."

"Maybe you should try and call him. See how he feels about the separation." Ennis suggested.

"I wouldn't know how to get in touch with him." Jack shrugged. "He's off to some school in Dallas; I doubt he'd be allowed to take phone calls."

"What about writin to him? If you wrote to your address in Childress, do you think Lureen would forward it on to him?"

"I don't know. The way she was hollerin and screamin at me; she probably wouldn't."

"You don't think that maybe she might a calmed down by now?"

"Could be, I guess. Maybe; maybe not."

"I'm sure sorry, Bud. I wish there was somethin I could do."

"There's nothin I can do either." Jack gave a sad little shrug.

"Maybe we'll have better luck tomorrow lookin for work." Ennis said. "Once we got money comin in on a regular basis, we're gonna feel a lot better about things."

"At least I got my driver's license. I can look for a real job now."

"That's right!" Ennis agreed.

x x x x

The next morning as they were leaving, they noticed a big 'HELP WANTED' sign in front of the campgrounds office.

Ennis pulled over.

"I wonder what they need help for, when the park's practically empty?" Jack asked.

"I don't know; but whatever it is, I'm gonna try and get it." Ennis said as he got out.

Jack followed along behind him, but didn't have a good feeling about it.

"Howdy!" A sweet little 'everybody's grandmother' type woman greeted them as they walked in. "I'm Grace Everhart; but everyone calls me Granny. I do hope the two a you're here about a job?" She looked from one to the other.

"We are." Ennis said as he took her out-stretched hand. "What kind a job we talkin here?"

"You boys are not from around here?" She asked.

"That's right." Jack gave her a smile. "I'm from over on the east side a the state, and my buddy's from the southwest side."

"Well good. The two a you probably been all over this state then."

"That's right." Jack nodded.

"Good, good; cause people are always askin for directions, and I don't know where nothin is. I'm from Pennsylvania myself; farm girl here." She motioned for the two of them to sit down, and poured three cups of coffee into little Styrofoam cups. "So what kind a work have the two a you done before?"

"I done ranch work my whole life; worked with stock." Ennis said. "But I can do other things as well. We did a paint job last month where we were stayin at the Hot Springs State Park, over by Thermopolis. And I worked in the Sears warehouse one winter. I can chop fire wood, do some carpentry, pretty much lots a handy-man type things."

"Good; that's exactly what I'm lookin for." She turned to Jack. "What about you, handsome? You do anythin besides smile at pretty girls and break their hearts?"

Jack coughed out a laugh. "I was born on a ranch, so I know my way around ranch work too, but the last several years I worked as a salesman for farm machinery. I can pretty much run any farm equipment you got. I've also done a lot of handy-man type work."

"Well, the two a you would be a god-send for me if you accept my offer. I was supposed to have this place staffed by the first of the year, but we had a little family crisis goin on, and I got distracted and didn't get it done." She cleared her throat and leaned forward.

"Here's the deal. My two grandsons were gonna do the job, but they're stuck in Pennsylvania with another three months a school work, and won't be available until end of April. So this job will just be until they can get here. So we're talking just a short time job here. Can you handle that?"

"Sure." Ennis and Jack both nodded.

"Okay then." Pleased, she began again. "We got this big shindig goin on here in a couple weeks, and the park isn't near ready for it. We gotta get our little store cleaned, and stocked; all the bathrooms need a good cleanin, we gotta make sure all the roads are open and passable, and we're gonna need a mountain a wood chopped for the bon-fire. Each site has to be inspected to make sure the electrics and plumbin work, that the picnic tables are in good shape, and that there's no garbage lyin around. It's a part time job for four men, or a full time job for two. It'd be a lot a all different kinds a work." Again, she looked from one of them to the other.

"Now as to the finer details. I don't set hours for the work, that'd be up to you. I just need the work to be done. You work hard, and get everythin done, I can pay you five-hundred each, per month, guaranteed at least three months work if you're gonna work at it full time. Otherwise, it's two hundred fifty for part time. There will be a few perks too, like all the firewood you need, and free food whenever we have one a our get-togethers. Does any a that sound like something you might be interested in? Cause it sure would help me if the two a you would accept. It would be a major step in getting this park ready for the coming season."

"I'll take the job." Ennis answered first. "Full time."

"Me too." Jack answered. "When do we start?"

"Oh my god! You just saved my life! " She clasped her hands to her chest. "First thing we need is the store cleaned out real good." She dug in a drawer and pulled out a set of keys. "I'm dealin with several vendors, and we're gonna have food deliveries starting day after tomorrow. Then, the bathrooms. They'll need a good cleanin, and all the spider webs knocked down. There's keys to the maintenance rooms on that key ring."

The phone rang.

"Which way is the store?" Ennis asked. "Round back a this buildin." She said before grabbing the phone.

Jack and Ennis took off for the store.

Ennis fiddled with the keys before he found the right one; opened the door, and they went in.

"I know this ain't the kind a work you were wantin, Jack; but at five hundred a month – I couldn't turn it down. If you wanna go on into town and try and find some sellin job; go ahead."

"Nah. I was just thinkin about that. You gotta have the proper clothes for that kind a job, and all I got is these Goodwill clothes. Besides, I'd rather work with you. Damn, this place smells."

"Uh huh." Ennis said. "That's cause it's been closed up for a while. Find somethin and prop that door open. I'll do the back door, and we can get started.

The store was actually bigger than it looked because there was a huge storeroom in the back. That's where they started. By noon they had scraped all the cob webs down from the ceiling, shelves, and walls; and swept and mopped the place clean. They were about to quit for lunch when Grace walked in.

"My goodness, doesn't this place look nice! You boys do fine work." She looked the place over from ceiling to floor.

"Those lights need a better cleanin," Ennis said, "but we didn't see no ladders around."

"Ladders would be over in the garden shed. Keys are on that key ring I gave you. Good work, boys; good work. Oh, before I forget; have either a you had any experience runnin a cash register?"

"I have." Jack said.

"Good deal. Okay, so if our gal Stella, who runs the store for us, doesn't show up; you could handle sales, and maybe spell her if she got sick or something?"

"Sure thing." Jack nodded.

"Fine, fine. One more problem taken care of." She mumbled as she left.

They headed for their camper, pulled it around back, and fixed a quick lunch. Just as they were stepping out to go back to work, Grace approached them.

"You boys build that camper?"

"We did." Jack said proudly. "Wanna see inside?"

"I sure do." She said and gave a little giggle as they had to help her in. "This would never do for an old lady like me, havin to be helped in and out all the time. Ohhh my goodness! This is incredible! Does that old stove really work?"

"It does." Jack assured her as he took over showing her around. He demonstrated how the table folded into a second bed, showed her all the little storage compartments, and how their sink worked."

They helped her back down.

"Well you boys are so clever! That little camper is a masterpiece, and I'll bet it didn't cost you a fraction of what a store-bought camper would a cost."

"You got that right." Jack said.

"I just wanted to tell you, that I've gotta go into town and meet with a vendor. I'll be back, hopefully in an hour or so."

"You want us to answer the phone if anyone calls?" Jack asked. "If you leave the door open, we'll probably hear it."

"Oh, would you? That would be wonderful. Just tell anyone who calls that I'll be back shortly, and if they want, they can leave a message with a phone number, and I'll return their call when I get back."

"You got it." Jack nodded as they went their separate ways.

It took a lot more work cleaning the store proper. There were so many shelves, nooks and crannies. Jack answered the phone four times, took messages and phone numbers. Grace was very pleased when she returned. Her meeting apparently went well, and she was exceptionally pleased with the way Jack had handled her phone messages. "This place hasn't ever been this clean." She said as she looked around.

"If you could tell us where the garden shed is, we can clean all a these light fixtures." Ennis said.

"I didn't give you a map?" She shook her head. "I'll get you one."

They followed her into the office.

"I'm sorry, I thought I already gave you this." She said as she unfolded the pamphlet, and pointed out where things were.

"Eh... Mrs. Everhart?" Jack asked before leaving.

"Granny; or else I gotta call you Mr. Twist."

"All right." Jack grinned. "Granny. I was wonderin; you asked about operatin a cash register, but there isn't one in the store."

"That's right. I always take it home with me when we close for any length a time. It's just a small one, so I can handle it. I'll bring it in tomorrow so you can familiarize yourself with it. There's nothin complicated about it at all. You'll see."

CHAPTER FIVE

April

"You okay, Bud? Why you so down?" Ennis asked as they finished their dinner. "You don't wanna work in the store?"

"No; I don't care about that." Jack sighed. "I guess I'm just a little blue."

"Anythin I can do?"

"Nah. I keep thinkin about Bobby, and wonderin what Lureen told him. I just don't want him to end up hatin me."

"Does he have one a them message machines on his telephone? Maybe you can call and leave a message for him."

"Yeah, he's got an answerin machine on his phone at home; but... I wouldn't put it past Lureen to be monitorin it, lookin for messages from me."

"You wantin to go down there then?"

"Oh hell no!" Jack sat up a little straighter. "I'm hopin I won't never have to step foot in Texas again as long as I live."

"What do you wanna do then? Tell me and we'll do it." Ennis reached across the table and took both of Jack's hands.

"That's just it. There's nothin that I _can_ do. I just hate that it ended this way."

"You got regrets?" Ennis frowned.

"I do." Then seeing the painful look on Ennis' face, he added, "Not about you and me bein together. That's the one silver linin in this dark cloud I'm under. Now don't take this the wrong way, but I really had feelins for Lureen. It wasn't nothin like what I got for you; but she was always good to me. Better than I deserved. And I really hate that I hurt her, made her end up hatin me."

"You were half asleep, Bud. You didn't know what you were doin." Ennis tried hard to find a way to help.

"I know. I never would a shoved her away like that." Jack shook his head sadly. "I just wish..."

"What, Bud. What do you wish?"

"I wish there was some way to let her know that I never meant to hurt her, and I'm real sorry about the way things turned out."

"You could write her a letter; explain that you were asleep and didn't know what you were doin."

"I could, but Lureen's not a very trustin person. She'd probably think I was just makin nice so I could get my things back."

"I got no other ideas, Jack; unless you wanna call her and apologize."

"No! I definitely don't wanna do that." He got up from the dinette and got himself a cup of water. "The last thing I'd wanna do is hear her cussin and callin me names again. It was bad enough the first time; I'm not gonna go through that again. I haven't had anybody talk to me like that since the last time my dad lit into me."

"I'm sorry, Bud. If there's anythin I can do, all you gotta do is ask."

"I know." He gave Ennis a hug before sitting back down. "And I appreciate that more than I got words in me to say."

"Maybe you should call your momma. That'll make you feel some better."

"No; I can't. What could I say to her? That Lureen threw me out with nothin but the clothes on my back? We'd be able to hear dad laugh all the way from Lightnin Flat."

"Couldn't you just tell her that you moved back up to Wyomin? You wouldn't have to give her all the details."

"No; that wouldn't work. I've always told momma everythin. She'd know I was holdin somethin back. I can't face 'em."

"I don't know what to do to help you, darlin." He gave Jack's arm a squeeze.

"That's just it. There's nothin anybody can do. I got myself into this mess, and there's no way out."

"Jack... you didn't do nothin wrong. She come at you while you were sleepin. What happened was just a reflex thing. It was Lureen who went all crazy."

"It doesn't really matter. I'm still out on my ass, livin off a you."

"You're not livin off a me; you been workin just as hard as I have." Ennis insisted.

"If it hadn't been for you takin me in... I'd be a bum sleepin in a city park somewhere probably eatin out a garbage cans."

"Jack... You were in trouble, and you came to me. That's what you're supposed to do. I helped you out a bit till you got back on your feet again. You're doin fine now, you're workin. What else could anyone expect from you?"

"I shouldn't a come runnin up here to you. I should a stayed right there, waited until Lureen cooled down, and explained that I was asleep and didn't know what I was doin. Instead I took off. If I'd a stayed, I might could a smoothed things over, and I wouldn't be stuck here cleanin toilets!"

"Is that what's botherin you? Hell, Jack; I can clean the bathrooms. You don't have to do nothin you don't want to."

"That's not the point; the fact is – neither a us is doin the kind a work we're cut out to do. We're ranchers! That's what we should be doin."

"I gotta tell you, Bud; I never had such an easy job before, and it pays more than enough to keep us goin." Ennis grinned at him.

Jack shook his head, "If there's somethin I learned the last twenty years, it's that money ain't all it's cracked up to be. So what if you got money in your pocket, when you loose what's most important to you."

"I didn't realize you were that unhappy." Ennis poured himself another cup of coffee, and sat back down in the dinette.

"It's just not fair!" Jack joined him. "For more than twenty years, I been wishin you and me could be together. Now we are, but in the process, I lose Bobby and Momma!"

"Well..." Ennis waited a bit, choked on the words, but asked: "You wantin to go back to Lureen then?"

"NO!" Jack was appalled by the idea. "That's not what I want at all. I want you and me on a ranch somewhere, I wanna be able to visit momma and hold my head up, I wanna see Bobby from time to time."

Ennis was stunned into silence by Jack's outburst. "I don't know how to help you, Jack." He finally managed to get out.

"You can't help me, Ennis. Nobody can."

"You're the only one who can do somethin about it." Ennis said.

"Me? There's nothin I can do." He looked up at Ennis. "What do you think I should do? What would you do if it was you?"

"The way I see it, there's only one thing you can do. You gotta face her. I know that's the last thing you wanna do right now, but it's the only thing that's gonna give you your peace a mind back."

Jack got up and went outside. He paced around in the dark for a while, and didn't come back until the cold got to him.

Ennis stayed inside and let Jack have room to wander and think things over. He was relieved when Jack finally did come back in.

"Gettin cold out there?" He asked. "You want some coffee? I can start another pot."

"No, thanks; I'm fine." He took a seat in the dinette across from Ennis. "It's nice and warm in here."

"Yeah, that little electric heater works real nice. We're about out a stove wood. Tomorrow I'll get to splittin some." Ennis said.

"So you think I should go down there and face Lureen?" Jack finally asked after several minutes of silence.

"Jack, I'm the worst person in the world to be givin advice. It just seems to me that this whole problem started with a mis-understandin between you and Lureen. If you could straighten that out, then everythin else might fall back into place."

"Maybe I should give her a call." Jack mulled that thought over. "I know Granny said we could use her phone any time we wanted, and she's got free long-distance; but there's always so much goin on at the store, and this conversation needs privacy."

"You wouldn't have to use the phone in the store; you could use the one in the office. Granny closes the office and goes home by six. That'd probably be a better time to call anyway. Wouldn't Lureen be home from work by then?"

"Yeah, I guess." Jack agreed. "You really think that's the way to go?"

"I think it's worth a try." Ennis said. "If the screamin and yellin starts, you can always hang up. At least you'll know that you tried."

"All right. I'll think about it. Maybe I'll call tomorrow after Granny leaves."

x x x x

"What if Stella needs me for somethin while I'm on the phone?" Jack was stalling the next evening after Granny had left.

"I'll get me a Coca Cola or somethin, and sit on one a the benches in front a the store. You tell her you got a phone call you need to make, and if she needs any help, I'll be right outside." Ennis said.

"All right then." Jack said, but didn't make a move.

"You'll feel a lot better once you get this done, Bud."

"I just don't know what to say to her."

"Just tell her you're real sorry about what happened, that you were sleepin and didn't know what was goin on."

"All right. All right." Jack said, put the the key in the lock, and entered the office.

x x x x

"Twist residence?"

"Bobby? Bobby, I'm so glad you answered!" Jack jumped up from the chair, giddy with relief.

"DAD! Where are you? I've been lookin all over for you!"

"Oh, god, Bobby! I'm so sorry... I been wantin to call you, but I figured you were off to school in Dallas. What're you doin home?"

"We got a three day weekend, Dad. Did you talk with Grandma?"

"No, I haven't. Why'd you ask that? Did you talk to her?" Jack asked.

"I did. I went up to Lightnin Flat. I thought you might be there."

"You went to Lightnin Flat?"

"I did. I took your truck, and all your things up there. Momma was fixin to sell your truck, and I knew you loved that truck. So I waited until she was gone to work, and I snuck into her office and got the keys. I got the rest a your stuff too; your clothes and campin gear. I was too late to get your jewelry box though. She must have already sold it."

"You got my truck?"

"I did. I drove it, and all your things up to Grandma's. I figured you'd be gettin in touch with her sooner or later."

"Oh, Bobby!" Jack was breathing so heavy, he thought he might pass out.

"Oh, and I found your bank statement. She closed out your account and transferred it into her account. That really made me mad, Dad. She had no right to touch that. So I went into her safe and took the exact amount of cash out. I got a cashier's check for it, and left it with Grandma. So if you go see her, you'll get most a your stuff back."

Jack stumbled back into the chair. "Oh my god! Bobby; you didn't! She'll give you holy hell when she finds out."

"She already knows. I told her when I got back from Lightnin Flat. And you're right, she did give me holy hell; but I'm glad I did it."

"I... I can't believe it." Jack stuttered.

"So were you callin expectin to talk with her?" Bobby asked.

"I was gonna apologize to her; explain what happened?"

"What did happen, Dad? She's been tellin every one that you hit her. She did have a big bruise on the side of her face; but I know you'd never hit her. You didn't; did you?"

"No, I didn't! Bobby, I swear to God! I was sleepin and she come got in bed with me. I was half a sleep; didn't know what was goin on. I guess I gave her a little shove, and she went over the side of the bed. She must a hit her face on somethin. I _swear_ I never hit her!"

"I believe you, Dad. I knew you'd never hit her."

" I was just worried sick about what she'd tell you happened."

"I knew she was lyin, and called her on it first thing; but she's stickin to her story." Bobby said.

"I don't care about that." Jack assured him. "As long as you and me are all right."

"We're fine, Dad. Nothin's ever gonna change that. So where are you stayin?"

"I got me a nice little job up here in Cody. It's beautiful up here. Comin back up here to Wyomin was exactly what I needed."

"Well, give me your phone number, so we can keep in touch."

"I don't have a phone in my place yet, Bobby. I'm usin the work phone; but I'll be sure and give it to you soon as I get one. That might be some time though, cause this job is just temporary for right now. Once I get settled in somewhere permanent, I'll get me a place with a phone."

"Okay. Is there anythin else I can do for your here, Dad? I got what important papers I thought you might need and left them with Grandma – your birth certificate, deeds to properties, insurance, marriage license, that kind a thing. Is there anythin else you need?"

"You took all a that stuff to Grandma's? Bobby, that's wonderful! It's gonna be a big help."

"I also took her your wallet. It was empty so mom took whatever was in it. I know you like to carry some cash, so I put a thousand dollars in it. And Dad – if you need more – you know I get a big allowance. More than I need really. I can send you some each month if you need it."

"Bobby... you don't have to do that." Jack was overwhelmed.

"I know I don't have to, Dad; but how many times did you slip me some cash when I went over my allowance? A million times; that's how many. So if you need any money, you just let me know. You can always get a letter to me in care of the dean's office at …...college. I don't have a post office box, but I'll get one and send it to Grandma. I'll do that as soon as I get back to Dallas. You get one too, Dad. Then, at least, we'll have a way to get in touch with one another."

"That's a real good idea, Bobby. I'll do that."

"Do you want me to tell Momma that you called?"

"No; I'll try and call her again. I do wanna talk to her though. She was so angry! I've never seen her like that before. That's why I waited this long to call. I wanted to wait until she cooled down."

"Well, I got home the day after you left. She told me about the fight the two a you had, and then I got into it with her. Now Dad, you need to get you a lawyer. If she decides to make this separation permanent, she'll leave you without a penny! You know how she is about money."

"I don't care nothin about that, Bobby. I didn't have a penny when I married her, and it's fittin that I don't have none when I leave. But I really did want my savings that I earned. I really appreciate you gettin that for me."

"She was wrong to take it, and she'll be wrong if she leaves you penniless. You spent twenty years doin her biddin. You should come out a this with a sizable chunk a cash." Bobby said.

"No, Son. I don't want it. It's her money, not mine. I just want what I earned."

"Well in my book, you earned ten times more than your savings, havin to go to all of those functions at the club with her when you clearly didn't want to."

"Well, Bobby; she give me a fine home, a beautiful son, and a good payin job. It was the least I could do in return."

"Still, it wouldn't hurt for you to get a lawyer. You can send me the bill, Dad."

"Son... I don't know what to say, except that I'm real proud a the man you've become. Your kindness and generosity amazes me."

"I love you, Dad. I always have, and I always will. Nothin momma, or anyone else, ever says will change that."

"Thank you, Bobby. That means more to me than all the gold in the world."

"If you don't wanna talk to her, we'd better hang up, because she just came in."

"Okay; I'm so glad we talked. I love you, Bobby! Thank you so much for everythin you did."

"Bye, Dad. Love you!"

Jack hung up the phone and immediately dialed his Mom's number. Their conversation was brief, with lots of tears along with the words and a promise that he was bringing Ennis to meet them on his next day off.

x x x x

Jack came out of the office with a new look on life. He walked up to Ennis, grinning from ear to ear.

"What happened? Did you talk to her? Did she forgive you?" Ennis peppered him with questions as they headed to their camper.

"You are not gonna believe what I got to tell you! I wouldn't a believed it possible myself! This is gonna change everythin! You can't imagine what happened. I never would have imagined it in a million years." Jack was bursting with the news, but didn't want to share it until they got back in their camper.

"Well, you look happy, so I guess everythin turned out all right." Ennis grinned, pleased that Jack seemed to be back to his old self.

"All right? Better than just all right, Cowboy! Everythin is gonna be just perfect now! Absolutely perfect!"

"So I take it, you're glad you made the call." Ennis unlocked the door and they stepped inside.

Jack grabbed him and gave him a huge kiss as soon as the door was closed and locked. "You gave me the very best advice anyone could have! I didn't wanna do it. I really didn't."

Ennis turned the light on, and got a pot of coffee going on the hot plate while Jack got a fire goin in their stove.

"I know you didn't wanna make the call, and I hated pushin you to do it. It just seemed like the only thing to do was to talk things out with Lureen." Ennis said as the two of them sat down in the dinette.

"I didn't talk with Lureen." Jack grinned. "I talked with Bobby."

"I thought you didn't have no number to call him at his school." Ennis said.

"I don't. I called the house, and Bobby answered. He was home from school on a three day weekend."

"Oh. That's good then."

"Oh, Cowboy! It's a lot more than good. It's wonderful! It's perfect! Incredible!"

"Well, you best tell me then before you burst wide open." Ennis grinned, adoring Jack and his enthusiasm.

Jack explained the conversation, practically word for word; and Ennis was just as stunned as Jack had been.

"No kiddin?" He asked several times.

"Uh huh. He don't hate me; he still believes in me, and wants to keep in touch." Jack breathed a grateful sigh. "And to think he brought my truck, and all a my stuff, up to Lightnin Flat for me! I gotta tell you, Cowboy, I never been prouder than I am right now."

"You got some boy, all right." Ennis relaxed and leaned back wondering exactly where this new development would lead them.

"So, can we plan on headin for Lightnin Flat on Friday? Granny's boys should be here by then."

"Sure. No problem."

"Good deal. It's my turn to fix dinner." He stood, "Anythin particular you want?"

"Nah. Whatever you wanna fix'll be fine."

CHAPTER SIX

End of April

The next few days for them were as different as night and day. Jack was happy, eager to do whatever needed to be done; smiling all the time. The old Jack was back. Evenings, in their camper, fixing dinner or getting ready for bed, it was a different story. Jack was quiet, reflective; a bit distant, and preoccupied.

"You've been awful quiet these last few days. Is gettin your stuff back that important?" Ennis asked as they drove toward Lightning Flat.

"Yes; it is!" Jack assured him.

"Is it gonna change things? For us, I mean." Ennis asked.

"Of course it will. It'll change everythin."

"Everythin? Are you gonna leave me now you got money again?" Ennis hated to ask; but he needed to know.

"What?" Jack couldn't believe what he'd heard. "No! Hell no! What would make you ask a question like that?"

"Seems like you been doin a lot a deep thinkin since you made that phone call. I thought maybe you was thinkin a goin back to Texas."

"No way! Not in a million years! I won't never go back there. Not ever. Unless Bobby needs me, or somethin." Jack assured him.

"So then what's all this heavy thinkin been about?"

"I got an idea." Jack grinned.

"What kind a idea?" Ennis asked as he drove.

"Well, it's kinda crazy; so I been tryin to work out all the details in my head before I told you about it."

"So tell me, and we can work on it together." Ennis relaxed a little.

"I was thinkin... what's the one thing the both a us always wanted our whole lives?"

"To be together. But we already got that, Bud."

"True; and that is the most important thing; but what else did we always say we wanted?" He waited a minute, but when Ennis didn't say anything, he went on. "A ranch! You and me on our own place!"

"Jack, I know you got some money now, and that's a good thing, but that ain't near enough to get a place, and all the things we'd need to get one up and runnin."

"I know! That's what I've been workin on. I got this place in mind. It's three-hundred-sixty acres, and we can get it for back taxes."

"How many years a back taxes; how much are we talkin about here? And if it takes all a your savins, we'd have to find work to make the note payments; and it'd be harder than hell to work a place, and hold down full time jobs at the same time. And before we could even work a place, we'd need a ton a expensive equipment. I know you don't have that kind a money."

"That's the beauty a this idea, Cowboy. This ranch I'm talkin about is just a couple a miles from the folks place."

"Jack..."

"I know, I know. Just listen." Jack waved away the negative look he was getting from Ennis. "First of all, the place. I know the people who used to live there. They're livin out a state now, and all they want is for it is someone to pay the back taxes. So once we get those paid, the place will be free and clear. I'm pretty sure I'll have enough to do that right off, so we won't have to worry none about note payments. As to a tractor, tools etc – I was thinkin maybe we could work somethin out with the folks and borrow theirs." He motioned for Ennis to pull off the road about ten miles past Recluse. He jumped out, undid a gate, and motioned for Ennis to pull in, before closing and securing the gate, and getting back into the truck.

"Is this your folks place?"

"Nope. Their place is about two or three miles north a here. Drive." He motioned for Ennis to drive on.

Ennis drove up the driveway, past a pile of rubble that at one time had been a house, and stopped over by a run-down old barn where Jack pointed.

"Is this the place you were talkin about?"

"Uh uh. And we can get it real cheap. It's ours if we want it. But first we need to talk."

"Jack... "

Jack got out and began to pace.

Ennis got out and joined him. "I want the same thing you want, Bud. But how could we possibly make somethin like this work?"

"It's up to the two of us to _make_ it work!" Jack worked at controlling his temper. They were so close. He couldn't blow it now. He searched for the right words. "No body's gonna do it for us; and no body's gonna stop us from doin it. It's up to us." He waited a moment or two, and watched Ennis process what he was saying. "I say we do it. Right now, today!"

"How?" Ennis asked as if the idea was completely foreign to him.

"We can do this if you want to. If you don't, then just say so."

"Bud... even if you do have enough to pay off the taxes, what if your dad won't lend us his tools?" Ennis tried to reason with him. The last thing in the world he wanted was to have Jack mad at him.

"Well, we got a couple a things goin for us here. First, and most important, I bought dad that tractor a few years back. And I figured maybe we could offer to do his work for him, in return for borrowin his equipment. That'd be more than fair."

"And if he didn't go for it; where'd we go to find work?" Ennis asked.

"Maybe we wouldn't have to go find jobs."

"How'd we live then?"

"We'd make do. We'd find a way to make a go of it." Jack pressed.

"That could take a life time, Jack."

"Maybe. But it'd be a lifetime we'd be spendin together." Jack countered.

"I s'pose we could put a vegetable garden in. Seed don't cost all that much. Maybe get a few fruit trees." Ennis offered. "If you had any money left after payin off the taxes."

"Yeah, and we could hunt and fish." Jack's hopes began to rise again. "We're not not but twenty or thirty miles from the Powder River; and didn't you say you know how to make rabbit traps?"

"Sure thing, Bud. There ain't nothin to it."

"Rabbits are good eatin. And Pa was jawin on last time I was up here about some neighbor sellin rabbit furs in town, and makin pretty good money off 'em. We could do somethin like that, and make a little cash that way." Jack suggested.

"That'd be easy enough to do." Ennis nodded.

Jack held his breath before asking, "What do you say we move in here? This old barn is all that's left standing here after a summer storm took the house down some years back. Looks like the back door's gone, but we could find somethin to close it up and still use it. And we got the camper to use until we got us something else to live in."

"And what'd we do about a herd?" Ennis asked.

"I been thinkin about that too, and I got a couple ideas on how we can start a herd – cheap." Jack pleaded.

"Cows ain't cheap, Jack."

"I know. I been thinkin horses as well as cows. Did you know there are still wild mustangs available? They round 'em up, and put 'em up for adoption. All it costs is the adoption fee, like somewhere in the neighborhood of a seventy-five dollars a head."

"And who's gonna break 'em, Jack? I ain't been on a buckin horse in more than twenty years."

"What if we didn't break 'em. What if we just used 'em for breedin stock? We could work with the foals; train 'em, and sell 'em off."

"That might could work." Ennis thought about it a moment or two. "And it might not. You'd have to make sure you had a sturdy fence, and plenty a room. And if you keep a stallion in with the mares, they'll be goin into foal all times a the year."

"We could handle that. I'm not talkin about a hundred head. Maybe one stallion and eight or ten mares. Just enough for us to get started. Later on, we could always get more mares, or a different stallion. This would just be a cheap start up." He watched Ennis' face as he processed the information. "Then there's the Humane Society."

"The Humane Society? Don't they just handle dogs and cats; small stuff?" Ennis asked.

"Nah; they handle all kinds a animals. There won't be a whole bunch available; but even a few – if we could get 'em for just an adoption fee – would be a great way to start a herd cheap. And we could check all around, not just Sheridan. Every where there's a Humane Society around here. We could give 'em a call and see if they have any live stock available, and drive over and take a look. Now those animals are usually in pretty bad shape. Skinny and underfed. They're usually from some place that the government took over, or they've been abandoned. But, hell, if we got 'em that cheap, we could take the risk that they'd fatten up in time on some good grass and feed."

"You think they'd have cows?" Ennis asked.

"I saw on the news one evening, a year or so ago, where they took over this place. The old man died and nobody knew about it for months. He didn't have no relatives, so they went in and took all his animals and put 'em up for adoption. They were all skinny as rails; but he had cows, a bull, some horses, goats, ducks, chickens, cats, and dogs. They were tryin to get people out to adopt 'em. I know that kind a thing don't happen all that often, but they were showin some places where they took the animals, and they called 'em foster homes for the animals. People who had big enough places, would take 'em in until they found homes for 'em."

"Sounds more like they were pets instead a breedin stock." Ennis frowned.

"I ain't sayin it's the perfect solution, Cowboy. Just that it's an option to check into where we might be able to pick up a few head here and there. They won't be top quality, and their condition would be rough, but the Humane Society would see to it they were disease free before they adopted 'em out, and it would give us a start for the least amount a money."

"I s'pose it wouldn't hurt to check it out." Ennis nodded. "If we adopted animals, we'd probably have to sign somethin sayin we wouldn't slaughter 'em. But if we just used 'em to breed – I doubt they'd have a say over the offspring."

"That's what I was thinkin. And even if we have to wait a year or two to breed 'em till they get their weight back, it'd still be worth it once they start givin us some calves, or foals." Jack grinned as he watched Ennis work out the details in his head.

"I guess it could be done." Ennis allowed. "What about fencin? We'd need fencin before we could even think about gettin any stock." Ennis was deep in thought.

"Whatever we need, we'll find a way to get it." Jack assured him.

"Jesus, Jack. I want to so bad!"

"Then let's do it!"

Ennis stood silent.

"Well?" Jack prodded.

"I'm scared, Jack!" Ennis finally blurted out.

"I know you are! That's why I think we should think seriously about gettin this place. It'd be perfect. We'd be way the hell away from everyone. Close to Gillette and Sheridan, and close to the folks. We can make it, Cowboy; I know we can."

"I don't know, Jack. It'd still be a hell of a risk. What if your dad won't loan you his tractor? We'd lose the place, and you'd lose your money."

"Life's a risk, Cowboy. Every day, everythin we do is a risk. Just drivin is a risk now a days. Ranch work is a risk, so is sellin farm equipment. But the pay off a this risk is that we'd end up with a place a our own like we always dreamed about. Isn't that worth the risk?"

Ennis said nothing for a time, and watched the hope seep from Jack's expression as he turned and stared off into nothingness, preparing himself to be let down again. Something inside of Ennis cracked, melted, and floated away. He couldn't hurt him again. He just couldn't. "I guess it wouldn't hurt none to check it out."

"Really?" Jack's whirled around, his face split wide with a grin.

"Uh huh." Ennis nodded. "Don't get your hopes up too high though. Just payin back taxes would get us on a place, but what if it's more than you got saved up? We'd still end up with a note to pay. And makin a deal with your dad for the use of his equipment might not be as easy as you think if he's anythin like you been sayin he is."

"I talked with Jake Anderson, the owner, about two or three years ago. We used to go to school together. Saw him in Gillette when I took momma in shoppin. He was tryin to sell me the place back then. He and he wife come on some hard times, she got real sick, and he moved her and their six kids back to her folks place in Georgia where she's from. His folks left him this place so there's no notes on it, just the taxes that he can't pay. So all it is now is a financial anchor around his neck. He's been payin a little bit on it whenever he can, but every year he gets further and further behind. All he wants to do is dump it. He says I can have it if I'll pay the back taxes. He told me what they were. I don't remember the exact figure, but it wasn't anythin outrageous."

"How big did you say this place is? And what if the ground ain't any good?"

"The ground is good, Ennis. And it's same as the folks, three hundred, sixty acres; and it'd be ours free and clear. No payments to make. All we'd have to do is take care a ourselves, and whatever stock we could come up with." Jack held his breath for a minute. "It'd be a new life for us, Cowboy. The two of us workin our own place together every day; we could make somethin out a this place."

"And you mean for us to live in the barn?" Ennis walked in, and looked around. The place hadn't seen a human's touch in many years. It was a typical, big old dirty barn, thirty foot wide by sixty foot front to back. There were stalls down both sides; some shelving, a work bench, and a filthy old sink with a hand pump at the back next to the opening where the back door was missing. There was a hay loft that ran all the way around, with a rickety old ladder that was mostly still intact. Ennis took it all in.

"Why not? We could fix it up. At least a part of it. We could hit Goodwill, and come up with whatever furniture we need." Jack said as he too looked around.

"They got a Goodwill in Gillette?" Ennis asked.

"Uh huh; and a couple a second-hand furniture stores."

"They got any antique stores?" Ennis asked.

"Don't know. What do we need an antique store for?" The question puzzled Jack.

"It'd be a big plus if we could find us one a those big old wood-burnin cook stoves. I doubt that little one we got in the camper would help much, and I'd like to leave it in the camper where it is. It wouldn't have to be nothin fancy; just somethin to give us some heat, and a place to cook."

"That's a good idea." Jack grinned, hoping that he had Ennis hooked on the idea.

"It'd be a real risk, Jack. What if people found out?" Ennis shoved his hands deep in his jacket pockets. "You know what could happen."

"Yes. People could drag us out of our bed in the middle of the night and kill us." Jack said. "Do you know what could happen doing ranch work? Do you know what diseases you can get from livestock? How many cowboys every year get stomped by bulls or stallions, or fall off horses, or die from lung or skin cancer? How many people die on the highways every year? Every day?"

"Jack... that's different."

"How? How is it different? Dead is dead. Whether it's some guys with tire irons, or a semi crossin the center line, or an angry bull. It could happen _any_ time, _any_ way." He ran out of things to say, and stood silent for a minute, hands on hips before adding, "I say we live our lives the way we want to, and to hell with everyone else."

Ennis let out a little huff, and turned from Jack's gaze.

"Either you want us to have our own place, or you don't." Jack said.

"I do, Bud! You know that." Ennis insisted.

"Then this is it. We can pick up this place for next to nothin, and whatever we make of it; it'll be better than we have now."

Ennis sighed. "You about ready for lunch? I'm starvin."

Jack worked hard at controlling himself, afraid that any little thing might frighten Ennis off, and they'd be right back where they started. "Uhh, sure thing."

They were both silent as they made their way back out to the truck, and set about throwing some sandwiches together.

"You think you can still get this place for just the taxes?" Ennis asked as they finished their meal, and took off for a drive around the place to check it out.

"Most likely. He's been tryin to sell it for years without any luck. Nobody would wanna buy a place without a house on it. There are a lot places around here been for sale for years. If anyone ever did wanna buy a place way out here, they'd go for one a those that still has a house. We're nearly an hour's drive out a Gillette or Sheridan, and most people don't wanna live this far out a town now a days."

Ennis stared into the dirt at his feet for some time before asking, "You really wanna do this; move into a dirty, run-down old barn?"

"Absolutely! If you're movin in here with me." Jack's grin brightened the world.

"And you figure on us livin here, and _not_ lookin for work?"

"Uh huh." Jack shook his head. "At least for a while anyway. We'll have our hands full just getting this place up and runnin."

Ennis walked up to the sink, and worked the handle on the pump. The old thing creaked and groaned, but finally began to spit out some water into the dusty sink. He cupped his hand and lifted some water to his mouth and tasted it. "Water's good."

Jack grinned. "I was thinkin, with what's left of the house, we ought to be able to find enough scraps of wood to fix up some kind a door here across the back."

"We could do that; or..." Ennis stared at the eight-foot wide opening.

"Or what?" Jack prodded.

"Or we could build us a fireplace right there. If we could find us enough stones around."

"Stones? What about bricks? Could you build a fireplace with bricks?" Jack asked eagerly.

"Course we could, but bricks are costly."

"Last time I was up here, I took a load a junk to the dump for the folks. I saw a ton a bricks there. I spoke to the attendant, and he said that they had just torn down an old school in Gillette, and dumped all the bricks there. I'll bet we could find enough to build a fireplace."

"No kiddin? Well, bricks are good. Especially when they're free." Ennis nodded.

"What do you say we get things started then?" Jack held his breath.

"You sure you wanna do this, Jack? It'd be a hell of a gamble. You could lose every penny you worked so hard to save all these years."

"It's a gamble I'm willin to take." Jack assured him. "If we lose everything, we can just go back to living in campgrounds like we're doin now."

"True." Ennis hated to admit it, but Jack was right about that. They did have a few options now.

Jack was ready to burst with excitement.

"Have you given any thought what we're gonna do if your dad don't wanna lend us his equipment?"

"Then we'll have to re-think things. See about getting us some used stuff somewhere. Or maybe see about rentin one. To tell you the truth, I haven't given much thought to him refusing. I intend to make the offer one that he can't/won't refuse."

"Exactly what all is it you're gonna offer him?" Ennis wanted to know exactly where they stood in this deal.

"Mainly this, we get the use of his tractor and equipment, in exchange for us workin his fields for him. Same with his chain saw and log splitter. We chop all his firewood for him, and we get to use it to chop firewood for us. I know you've been driven a stock trailer to market every year for Mr. Cole, and dad has to hire that out every year. He bitches about the cost for months. So I'm thinkin we can offer to do that for him in exchange for puttin a couple two or three freezers in their cellar. That way we'd have us a place to keep some fish, rabbit, elk; or anything else we need to freeze. Any other deals, for anything else... we play it by ear."

"And you think he'd go for somethin like that?"

"I do. He turned seventy last birthday, and it's gettin harder and harder for him to work the place. Every year he cuts down on how much a the place he's workin, and he's down to only a third a the place now. Drivin that tractor bothers his arthritis more and more every year. He'll agree to just about anythin to get out a that. And he loves sittin by a fire evenins, but hates like hell choppin firewood. He'll go for it all right. As long as we make the deal sound like he's gettin the best of it."

Ennis thought about it for a minute. "I guess we'd best head on over to your folks place then. See what they think a the idea."

"YES! Good idea." Jack hugged him close.

Ennis held on for dear life. Every pore of his body shaking.

"Oh Cowboy! You won't be sorry. I promise you that!" Jack was whispering in his ear. "I love you so much! This will be a whole new life for us. We'll work our asses off every single day, and love each other to sleep each night. I love you, love you, love you."

The tears came then and Ennis couldn't stop them. He was exhilarated; happy, excited, and absolutely terrified. Like a kid on his first roller coaster ride. He was nearing the top of that hill, and any second they would be hurtling down, down, down. He was shaking like a leaf, but the expression on Jack's face was worth it. Whatever it took, whatever happened to them, he would take it. As long as he could keep Jack this happy, he'd do it.

"I can't believe it!" Jack grinned at him, his face wet with tears. "We're gonna do this; aren't we? We're gonna have our own place!"

"Looks that way." Ennis managed to choke out, and was immediately crushed in Jack's arms again.

"All right then. That's settled." Ennis stepped back, but held on to Jack's hands a moment longer. "We best be on our way."

"I'm ready!" Jack said. "You know, I was thinkin – your dad was a mechanic you said. I know that's where you get your ability to work on your truck yourself; did you ever work on tractors?"

"Yeah, I did; but old ones. Not the newer ones. Your dad havin trouble with his tractor?"

"No, he's not havin trouble with the one I bought him. I was just thinkin – maybe we could ask him for the old one. I don't know what was wrong with it, but it was always breakin down. That's why I went ahead and bought him a new one. I got tired a hearin him bitch about it. So if he gives us the old one; you think you might be able to get it workin?"

"I got no way a knowin that, Jack. It depends on what's wrong with it. I can do some stuff; some stuff I can't. I did work with dad on our old tractor. You know what make your dad's is? What year it is?"

"I don't know. I just know it's real old."

"Well if it's got any life to it at all, I might could fix it. Did he ever have a mechanic look at it?"

"Not a real mechanic, no. Not that I know of. Just one a his drinkin buddies that did a little mechanical work on the side. I just know most a the time it didn't run."

"It'd be nice to have and see if I could get it runnin; but don't count on it. Seein as how you and your dad don't get on all that well. He might not wanna give it to you."

"I know. It was just one a the things I was thinkin about." Jack nodded.

"Well, it's good you're thinkin about such things. There'll be no more runnin to the store every time we need somethin. We'll have to make do with what we have." Ennis warned.

"Just think of it, Cowboy." Jack sighed. "The two of us workin our own place for the rest of our lives."

Ennis held him close and thought, _"For however long we have left to live."_ But all he said aloud was, "Uh huh."

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Maybe I should wait out here while you talk with your dad." Ennis suggested as they pulled up into the Twist's driveway and stopped.

Jack was silent for a bit, then said, "Ennis, I been tellin the folks for twenty years now, that I was gonna bring you to meet 'em. That you and I would help out with the ranch work. Dad never believed me; I could tell." He paused, and looked up at Ennis. "I need you there with me. If we're gonna be bargainin and offerin to do work for 'em, they need to see you; get some idea that you're real, and not someone I made up."

"Jack, I..."

"He's got to see that there are two of us makin this deal, Ennis. Two of us who are willin to do his work for him in exchange for the use of his tools. I wouldn't a asked you, if I didn't think it was important. And the longer we put it off, the longer it's goin to be before we get our place up and runnin. It's May now. We need to get our vegetable garden in."

Ennis took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. "You sure it's... you know... safe?"

"Positive." Jack assured him. "Just think of it this way – he's a sick old man, can barely do the work necessary to keep the place afloat. We go in offerin to do it for him, and it won't cost him nothin but the loan a his tools. I can't see him makin trouble for us, and scarin us off."

"I s'pose." Ennis nodded. "It would be a good deal for him."

"Course it would. I guess you gotta just trust me on this one. As tight-fisted as he is, he won't be doin nothin to run off free help."

"All right then. I guess I can take it if you can." Ennis agreed reluctantly.

x x x x

The meet and greet was uneventful with the four of them eying each other up as they were seated at the Twist kitchen table drinking coffee.

"Run that by me again?" The old man said.

"I been wantin to move back up here for years now, and I finally done it. Ennis and me, are gonna buy the old Anderson place. We won't be but a hop, skip and a jump away now; close enough to help you out here, as well as work our own place."

"And what exactly is all this is gonna cost me? I can't pay no wages. If you can wait till November, I might could pay you a little then, but not very much." The old man shook his head.

"We won't be expectin no pay, Dad. What we're offerin is to plow, plant, mow, and bale your fields for you; we'll supply all the firewood you need; and in return, all we're askin is to borrow the tractor to work our place, and the chain saw and log splitter to cut firewood for both our places."

They sat silently and waited while the old man pondered the idea.

"It's a good deal, Dad. And there's other things we could do for you too. Ennis here has had lots of experience drivin stock trailers. The two of us could take your stock to market this fall, and you wouldn't have to pay some stranger an arm and a leg to do it."

"You could haul my calves to market? And what would you want in return for that?" The old man looked back and forth between them.

"We could." Jack nodded. "And for no cash money. This is what I'm thinkin. We got no electricity out at our place, and we need someplace to put a couple two or three freezers. I know how much you have to pay to have your calves picked up and taken to market, and it's a bundle. So if you let us put a few freezers in your basement, we'll haul your calves to market for free. All it would cost you would be the gas money, and the little bit it'll raise your electric bill. Course we'll have to see to getting your stock trailer fixed up, but that won't be much."

"Why I think that sounds just wonderful!" Mrs. Twist said as she re-filled everyone's coffee cup. "You won't never get a better offer than that, John."

"I'm thinkin. I'm thinkin." The old man puzzled. "I'd have to put some new tires on our old stock trailer. That'd cost me." The old man spit in his cup.

"Yeah, but not nearly as much as it costs you to have your calves taken to market for you." Jack reminded him.

"It all sounds good, but it'd take a hell of a lot of work; the two a you tryin to work both ranches."

"We ain't afraid a hard work, Dad. We can handle it."

"You know the Pattersons?" The old man asked after thinking for a bit.

"Name's familiar. Aren't they neighbors?" Jack stared at him a minute before answering; wondering what the Pattersons had to do with making a decision.

"They had a house fire last winter." Mr. Twist explained. "They got their insurance check in, and built a new smaller place up closer to the road. Had enough left over to build a new barn. He wants the old barn torn down so he can use the land to enlarge his vegetable garden. He's been tryin to find someone to come out here and tear it down, but he can't find nobody for what he can pay. You go take that barn down, you can make a few bucks. You do that job and come back; and we'll talk then about the rest of it."

"You got the Patterson's phone number, Momma?"

"Why, yes, I do." She pulled a slip of paper out of her apron pocket and handed it to Jack as he stepped out into the hall and picked up the phone.

Five minutes later he hung up, came back into the kitchen, and grinned at Ennis. "He says he can pay us five hundred to take it down and haul the wood away. He says we can do whatever we want with the wood. He don't care."

"When can we start?" Ennis asked. "What about tools; he got any?"

"I asked him that. He said he had all we'll need. Ladders too. We can start Monday mornin. They're gonna be gone for the weekend."

"Okay, good." Ennis nodded. "That'll give us a couple days to get settled in then, and make a quick trip down to Riverton to pick up my horses."

Jack picked up his things that Bobby had left for him, got in his truck, and followed Ennis the few miles 'home'.

x x x x

"So what did you think of 'em?" Jack asked later back on their place.

"About like I expected." Ennis nodded. "Your momma's a sweetheart, and your dad... well... I seen a lot a old timers like him. They don't trust nobody, and are suspicious a just about everythin and everybody."

"Yep. That about describes 'em all right." Jack nodded. "Let's get on into town and get our business taken care of."

x x x x

"Okay. I got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" Jack said as he jumped back in the truck where Ennis had been waiting.

"Uhh." Ennis grunted and frowned. "Bad news first. Best to get it over with."

"The god dammed taxes were way higher than I thought they were gonna be."

"Damn." Ennis cursed. "So what's the good news? They offer you someplace else you could afford? Some place smaller?"

"Nope. The good news is, I went ahead and bought it. The place is ours free and clear. Next tax payment ain't due for three years from today."

"Jack! You went ahead and bought it?"

"I did. It was just too perfect to pass up. The only problem is it left me with in the neighborhood of only two thousand dollars left. That ain't much to get started with."

"I guess we should start lookin for jobs then, once we finish the Patterson place."

"Let's don't worry about jobs just yet. We got a lot a work ahead a us right now, with doin dad's plowin and gettin our place in shape as well." Jack was too happy right then to let anything bring him down.

"Let's go then." Ennis beamed.

"I got a quick phone call I gotta make first. I need to talk to Lureen; tell her I want a divorce."

"All right." Ennis agreed. "There's a phone booth across the street at the gas station."

"It won't take long." And it didn't. After a frosty beginning, Jack told her all he wanted was a divorce and what he already had, his savings and his personal items. She said she'd take care of it. End of conversation. "Let's go home!" He grinned as he climbed back into the truck.

x x x x

"So where do we start?" Jack asked as the two of them entered the barn.

"I wanna see if that front door works. It'd be a shame if we was to brick up that back openin, and then find out the front door didn't work." Ennis suggested.

They gave it a try. It protested at first; squealed and resisted, but finally gave way to their pushing once they pulled some weeds out of the way.

"We need to get some oil on those rollers." Ennis said, brushed his hands off, and headed for the loft with Jack following along behind.

"Gotta fix this ladder. Be careful." Ennis said as he climbed. "Roof leaks." He commented after noticing several bad areas.

"And it looks like some birds have been nestin up here." Jack said, more than a little dismayed.

"Probably. They'll move on once they see we're here to stay." Ennis said.

"What'll it take to fix the roof?" Jack asked. "We gonna need to get a roofer out here?"

"Nah, we can do it. All we need is some plywood and shingles. We might be able to find enough in what's left a the house; but more important, we need a ladder tall enough to get us up there."

"Okay; we need a ladder." Jack made a mental note as they came back down from the loft.

"How far is that dump you were tellin me about?" Ennis asked.

"About five miles this side a Gillette."

"Okay; let's go. If those bricks are still there, I wanna get as many as we can, as fast as we can." Ennis suggested.

x x x x

"Holy Mackrel!" Ennis said as they got out of their truck at the dump. "That must a been a pretty big school!"

"Looks like a lot a them are busted, but with this many to choose from, maybe we can find enough that we can use." Jack said.

"Sure enough." Ennis said as he headed for the first pile and began pulling out brick after brick and making a neat little stack beside him. "We'll need to spend some time cleanin 'em; but that won't be much of a job."

Jack joined him and did the same.

Trip after trip to their truck and back; for the next two hours they worked. They didn't stop until their truck was completely full.

"I'm so glad to have my truck back again!" Jack beamed as they finished their load. "You think this will be enough for a fireplace?" Jack asked.

"I doubt it. We need to come back and get more; all we can find that are usable. We'll be needin somethin to build with, and these are free. We best get 'em before someone else decides they want 'em."

"You ready to head on back then?" Jack asked as he removed his gloves and stuck them in his back pocket.

"Let's take a look around first. See what else we can find."

They walked a bit before Ennis stopped them. "This is what we need." He pulled a two-by-four out of a pile.

"It's in pretty bad shape." Jack noticed.

"We can cut off the part that's split, and use the rest. As long as it's at least a couple a feet long, we can use it, one way or another." Ennis said and pulled a second one out that was a lot shorter. "We find enough a these two-by-four pieces, and we can make us a ladder."

"Are ladder's all that expensive? We could probably just buy one." Jack suggested.

"I don't wanna buy nothin that we don't have to, Jack. Looks like there's some more pieces over there."

He headed off to the next pile, with Jack tagging along behind. They ended up with a stack of nice sized pieces, and some good sized chunks of plywood that hadn't been too badly damaged by the weather. They tied it all on top of their load of bricks, and headed on home.

"We need to unload, and go right back for another load." Ennis said as they unloaded their take back at the ranch. "I wanna get all a those bricks we can before someone else gets the idea to take 'em."

"You know, I was thinkin," Jack said. "There are other dumps around too. There's Buffalo and Sheridan. They are both county seats. They should both have dumps. I never been to 'em, but don't most counties have one?"

"I think they do." Ennis agreed. "That's a good idea, Bud."

"We can try all the surroundin counties. Maybe we can come up with a little bit a stuff at each one." Jack suggested.

"No tellin what we'll be able to find." He grinned, happy that Jack was coming around to his way of thinking of scavenging rather than buying things.

After leaving the dump in Gillette, they hit the Johnson County dump outside Buffalo where they found more scraps of lumber, an old dented wheel barrow with no wheel or handles, a bunch of cinder blocks, and a bundle of used garden wire in really bad shape. When Jack asked what they needed that for since their garden fence was intact; Ennis explained that he needed it to make the rabbit traps.

It was dusk by the time they reached the Sheridan County dump, and they were pretty much loaded, but they did find an assortment of lumber they could use; plus two doors, a small window, and a few broken garden tools. A rake that was bent way out of shape that they'd never be able to fix, but with a good wooden handle on it; and a shovel that was in fine shape, but the handle had been burned almost entirely off. Ennis said with a little work, they'd have them a good working shovel. They stopped at a hardware store and picked up a wheel and set of handles for their wheel barrow and some nails they were going to need.

Home again, they marveled at the goods they had found.

"We got lots a good stuff here, Jack. And we didn't have to spend a penny for most of it; just what little bit we spent at the hardware store, and that wasn't all that much."

"Well, I don't know about how 'good' any of it is; but it sure was the right price." Jack agreed with a grin, enjoying how much Ennis was getting into it all.

The next day, Sunday, they drove to Riverton and picked up Ennis' horses and fixed up a couple stalls for them.

x x x x

At the Patterson's, they started on the inside first, removing all the stalls, shelves, etc. Then both the doors. Then they went up on the roof and began removing the shingles. They worked each day until five o'clock, then headed on home and unloaded. They'd have dinner, and work a few hours on their place.

First Ennis set to putting together a ladder that was tall enough to reach the barn roof. Then they got to work scrounging enough bits and pieces of plywood and shingles from the remains of the old house to repair their roof.

Day after day, bit by bit, the Patterson's barn came down. Some of the wood splintered and crumbled with their efforts, but most of it came down, more or less, intact.

"You think any a this wood is usable?" Jack asked as they drove home. "It's in pretty bad shape."

"A lot of it we can use, the rest we'll burn. Them long boards from the side a the barn – we can cut off the rotted ends, lay 'em side by side and make us a floor in the back part a our barn. We'll use some a those bricks and raise it up a bit, so if we take a rain, we won't get washed out."

"Oh, that's a great idea. I didn't wanna say nothin, but I was real worried about what would happen if it rained." Jack admitted.

On the last day of the job, their pickup still loaded up with used lumber, they stopped at the Twist ranch for coffee, and another conversation with the folks.

"So you finished takin the barn down then?" Mr. Twist asked.

"We did." Jack answered. "Have you made any decision on our offer?"

"There is only one way this will work." The old man thumped a finger on the table as he spoke. "You plow all a my fields, I'll agree that you can use the tractor to plow your fields. Same with the rest a it. You plant my place, then yours; mow my place, then yours; and bale here first, then your place. _My_ tools – _my_ place gets first priority. That's the only way I'll agree to it."

"You got a deal!" Jack grinned. "What about the rest of it? Us usin your chain saw and splitter for firewood for both places, and puttin some freezers in your basement in exchange for takin your calves to market?"

"That's gonna work the same way. I want the entire west wall a this house, five foot high, filled with firewood. Once that's done, you can borrow the chain saw and splitter, and put your freezers in the cellar. Come November, you take my calves to market. We make it to Casper and back with no accidents, no tickets; come next spring, we'll negotiate again. If I like the way everythin turns out, we can do it again for another year."

"Deal!" Jack said happily. "Do you have any trees down on the property, or do we need to scout some up?"

"We got three down, and there's at least half a dozen or so down in the woods out back. You can start there."

"All right. Sounds good. We got a load a lumber to unload before we start. We'll head on home, unload, and come back right after we have lunch."

x x x x

They returned, stopping at the folks barn to pick up the chain saw, and headed to the back side of the ranch where they parked and got busy. The trees were easy enough to find, with the old man's directions. They could see where he had sawed off some limbs, but had left the main trunk. They got right to work. Once the truck was loaded with the eighteen-inch rounds, they hauled them up to the barn, unloaded, and went back for more. After finishing off three trees, they set up the splitter, and soon the stack of wood beside the house began to grow. At five-thirty, Mrs. Twist called the two of them in for dinner.

"Thank you, Momma. That was delicious." Jack wiped his mouth after finishing off his cherry cake.

"How about another slice?" She smiled lovingly at him, so happy to have her dear son back at her table once again.

"No thanks, Momma. I'm full."

"How about you, Ennis? You want another slice?" Mrs. Twist asked as she poured them each another cup of coffee.

"Oh no, Ma'am. I couldn't eat another bite."

"So, tell us about your place." She said as she took her seat and sipped her coffee. "Is the house nice? I was over several years ago when Leatha sprained her wrist and needed help with her cannin. I remember her kitchen was really nice sized."

Ennis and Jack exchanged looks. "The house is gone, Momma."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" She asked.

"Didn't I tell you I saw Jake that time in Gillette, and he tried to sell me the place then?"

"I do remember that; but I don't remember you sayin anythin about the house."

"Storm took it couple years back." Jack said.

"Land sakes! Then what are the two a you livin in?" She looked from one of them to the other.

"The camper for now; till we get the barn fixed up." Jack said.

"The barn? Oh no!" She cried.

"What the hell were you thinkin, buyin a place without a house?" Mr. Twist asked.

"We bought this one cause we were able to get it for just the back taxes. Jake, more or less, just give us the place. He was desperate to get out from under it. He's been tryin to sell it for years, and ain't had even one person interested. He couldn't make the taxes, and pay for their place in Georgia at the same time; and he was gettin further and further in the hole every year."

"So... all you had to pay was the taxes? You ain't got no note payment?" The old man asked.

"That's right. And with what I had saved up, I was able to pay the whole thing off, so we don't owe nothin on it. Just taxes when they come due, and that won't be for three years."

"But livin in a barn, Son..." Mrs. Twist was appalled.

"Oh I get it." The old man leaned back and gave them a disgusted look. "I see what's goin on here. You're anglin for an invitation to move in here."

"NO!" Jack and Ennis both answered vehemently.

"We're fixin us up a place in the back a the barn. It won't be half bad when we get through with it. We already got the roof fixed so it don't leak no more. We're gonna use some a that barn wood from the Patterson's and fix us up a floor; and we're gettin ready to build a fireplace. We'll have it all nice and snug before winter."

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Twist worried. "Well, what are you cookin on?"

"We got us a stove in the camper we're usin for now, Momma. We were thinkin a checkin out the antique store and see if we can find us a wood burnin stove. Is that place your friend owns still open over on Fifth Street?"

"Oh no, Son. That closed down years ago. She, and all the other small antique dealers in town, moved over to where that old WalMart store used to be, and opened an antique mall."

"No kiddin? Well, that'll be great then. We can hit all the antique stores in one stop."

"I hope you can find one. They are just the best things to cook on. I wish I still had Grandmother Sullivan's. I gave it away years ago to the church one year when their heater went out in the middle a winter, and there wasn't enough money in the church fund to buy a new one. They are just as great for heatin as they are for cookin."

"That's what we're hopin for, Momma." Jack stood to leave, and Ennis did the same. "I think we'll take a run into town tomorrow mornin and check out this antique mall." And to his dad, he said, "We'll be back right after lunch for some more wood choppin."

"Thank you for invitin us for dinner, Ma'am." Ennis said. "It was real delicious." He gave Mr. Twist a nod, and the two of them left.

x x x x

Back at their ranch, they spent a few hours cleaning bricks before bed time.

"It's a shame momma give away that old stove. It would a been nice if we could have gotten one for nothin."

"Uh huh." Ennis answered as they worked. "Maybe we'll find one that don't cost too much. We been doin real good money wise. We ain't spent hardly nothin but for some food and gasoline."

"And once we get our place set up, we won't have to spend near as much on food." Jack said.

"It's about time to start workin the fields." Ennis mentioned. "We should start that soon as we can. We need to get our vegetable garden in."

"I was thinkin about that." Jack said. "What if one of us worked on the firewood, while the other did the plowin?"

"I like it." Ennis nodded in agreement.

"So do I."

CHAPTER EIGHT

Their trip to the antique mall the next morning brought them nothing but shock. They found two different stoves, but both of them were way out of their price range.

"A wasted morning." Jack griped.

"Well, we needed to find out. Now we can work on makin other plans. We can try Sheridan, or even Buffalo. Maybe a smaller town would have lower prices."

"That's possible." Jack agreed.

"And it's not a totally wasted mornin." Ennis said. "We can stop a the dump and grab another load a bricks."

"Good idea. Then we can get back to finishin up our work for the folks. I figure it'd be best if we waited till we got the plowin and firewood taken care of first before I asked about the old tractor."

"That'd probably be best." Ennis agreed.

The next week, that's exactly what they did. They took turns, one day Ennis would plow while Jack worked on the firewood, the next day it was the other way around. Evenings, they'd work at home. Ennis put together several rabbit traps and set them out, while Jack continued with cleaning bricks. The day they finished at the folks place, they were havin coffee with the Twists when the phone rang. Mrs. Twist answered it, and came back into the kitchen a few minutes later, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Son... Ennis... I just got the best news!"

"What is it, Momma?" They both looked up, anxious to hear her news.

"That was Pastor Harris. You're not gonna believe this!" She joined them at the table. "Remember, I told you I gave Grandma Sullivan's old wood stove to the church? Well, I was talkin with Pastor Harris about it last Sunday, that was him on the phone just now, and he says they still have that stove. It's up in their attic, and you're welcome to it!"

"You're kiddin!" Jack gasped.

"Nope. He says you'll have to get it down yourself, but I figured between the two a you, you could manage it. What do you think?"

"Up in the attic?" Ennis frowned.

"Man... that's gonna be a job." Jack sighed. "I wonder why they put it up there?"

"They probably needed the room. The church isn't all that big." Mrs. Twist said. "You think you can get it down? Maybe we can find someone to help?"

"If they got it up there, we can get it down. We can rent a dolly. That'll do the trick." Ennis said.

"Oh good!" Mrs. Twist said. "Now it ain't one a those fancy ones, like the antique shops have. None a that fancy colored enamel work. But it's got six burners on it, and a good sized oven. Plenty big enough, and it puts out lots a heat which you'll need come winter."

"It sounds perfect, Momma. Did he say when we could come get it?"

"Now wait a minute here." The old man interrupted. "Them things go for thousands a dollars. Maybe we ought to think about sellin it."

"John!" Mrs. Twist gave her husband a look; then thought of another way to handle it. "Maybe you're right. Maybe we should try and sell it. Of course, it ain't nothin like those in the shops, and he said that it's pretty rusted up, so I doubt we could get much for it in the condition it's in. Maybe a couple hundred dollars at best; IF you could get all a that rust scrubbed off first, and IF we could find anyone who wanted to buy it. And Jackie, don't worry about it. If you don't find somethin to cook on, you and Ennis can always plan on takin all your meals here with us. In fact, there's no reason at all why the two a you couldn't move in here, at least for the winter. We got all those empty rooms up-stairs."

The old man gave a disgusted sigh, and left the room. He had been outwitted, and he knew it.

Ennis turned his back and chuckled.

"Momma..." Jack was at a loss for words, but he was grinning.

"I haven't been married to the man for forty-five years without learnin a thing or two." She smiled at them. "I told the pastor that the two a you'd be by within the next few days."

"You're the greatest!" Jack hugged her. "You think it would be all right if we went over right now?"

"I'm sure it would be just fine."

Jack and Ennis both grabbed their hats and headed for the door.

"You two be careful now. That stove is real heavy."

"We will, Momma." Jack came back and gave his momma a kiss on the cheek.

x x x x

"We'll probably have to spring for a smoke stack for it." Jack said as they drove into town. "That shouldn't cost too much."

"Maybe we could find one used. I saw a place in town that sells used construction equipment and materials. We passed it on the way to the grocery store. We should check it out cause we're gonna need a lot a that kind a thing to fix up our place. It'd be a real windfall if we could find stuff used."

"Uh huh." Jack nodded in agreement.

"We're gonna need a flue and a top cap for the fireplace. You think your dad would mind if we charged the batteries for the power tools at their place?" Ennis asked. "If he does, we'll have to make do without 'em. I sure hope it don't cost much to rent a dolly. I hate to spend the money for one, but that's the only way we're gonna get somethin as heavy as a stove down all those stairs."

"I doubt the rental will cost all that much. Whatever it is, it'll be a lot cheaper than us havin to buy a stove. And as for dad lettin us charge batteries, we won't even ask him. We'll talk with momma about it. I'm sure she'll say yes."

"Great! Let's go take a look at the stove first so we can see what we're up against." Ennis suggested.

"Good idea."

The pastor was happy to see them there, and took them right up stairs to the attic store-room. "I'm sorry it's not in nearly as good a shape as it was when Mrs. Twist gave it to us. This old attic is cold and damp, and I'm afraid it's gotten quite rusty." He led the way through stacks of boxes, and odds and ends of furniture that had been donated over the years, and no one had needed. "Here it is." He removed some boxes that were sitting on top. "If there is anything else up here you need, let me know and we can work something out."

Ennis straightened up after checking the stove out, and looked around. "Who does all this stuff belong to?"

"The church. It's all been donated over the years. We give out items now and then whenever a family needs them."

"And it's all right if we just take this stove?" Jack questioned.

"Absolutely. It was kind of your family to allow us to use it. We were at the point of having to cancel services, it was so cold that winter. We're happy to return it. I don't see any stove pipe around though."

"It don't matter. We can pick some up. Right now we gotta head on over at Home Depot to rent a dolly." Ennis said as they made their way to the stairs, then he stopped dead in his tracks. "What's that over there, that ain't a kitchen cabinet; is it?"

"That old Hoosier? Yes, that's exactly what it is. You need it?"

"Yes sir, we sure do. What'd you take for it?" Ennis asked as they made their way over to it, carefully moving boxes out of the way to get there.

"Really?" The pastor said, and stopped to think about it for a minute. "I've got an idea. We've been talkin about havin a rummage sale, but we don't have it in our budget to hire anyone to haul all this stuff down stairs. And most of our volunteers are of an age that prevents us from hauling things up and down stairs. How about this: we settle a day we want to have the sale, make all the arrangements, and the two of you bring all this stuff down to the first floor for us. You do that, and that cabinet is yours. What do you think?"

They both looked around the room. There was a lot of stuff in it all right, but most of it was boxes and smaller bits and pieces of furniture. No pianos, couches, or huge pieces; nothing that looked overly heavy.

"You got a deal." Jack said after getting a nod from Ennis.

"We'll be back shortly." Ennis said as they headed down the stairs.

x x x x

They hit the place that offered used construction materials first, and picked up some supplies - stove pipe, and a few other odds and ends. Then they hit Home Depot, picked up a few things, rented a dolly, and headed back to the church. The first thing they did was remove the stove's top section, the doors; everything they could to lighten the load. Then they maneuvered it up on the dolly, and strapped it on tight.

"You sure that's gonna hold?" Jack asked. "That stove must weigh at least three hundred pounds."

"Positive. This dolly is made for appliances, like refrigerators and such, and those are even heavier. This will work just fine." He wheeled it over to the top of the narrow stairs.

"Is there anythin I can do? You want me in front to make sure it don't go down too fast?"

"No, Bud. I got this. You grab those doors. See you at the bottom." Thump, thump, thump, he proceeded down the stairs.

Pastor Harris suggested they go ahead and take the Hoosier cabinet as well since they had the dolly. That way they wouldn't have to rent one a second time. It came down just as easily in two trips; one for the top, and one for the base.

"You give Momma a call, and let her know when you want us to come carry all that stuff down." Jack told the pastor as they were leaving. And later in the truck after they dropped the dolly off, "The stove's a lot lower than I thought it'd be."

"Yeah, I noticed that. I guess people were shorter back then." Ennis said.

"Uh huh; especially the women. I remember when I was about ten, I was tall as my grandma."

"My grandma was little too." Ennis said as they drove. "It won't be a problem though. With all them bricks we got, I can build us up a little place that'll bring it up to where we want it."

"Looks like we got us a big cleanin job ahead a us. You think we can get all that rust off?"

"Yeah. I got a wire brush in my tool box. We'll use it with the vinegar we bought, then give it a couple a coats a that Stove Black paint, and we'll have us a fine stove. It'll take some work, but we can do it. We did it with the smaller stove for our camper; this one will just take a bit longer."

"So which is more important; getting the garden started, the fireplace built, or the stove cleaned up and installed?" Jack asked.

"They're all three important, Jack. So is gettin the floor in which really needs to come first. How about we borrow your dad's tractor, and you get after the plowin; while I get to work on the floor and the fireplace? What do you think? And while you're talkin to him about borrowin the tractor, you might wanna bring up the old tractor; see if he'll let you have it."

"Sounds like a plan." Jack grinned; more than satisfied with how things were going for them.

The old man agreed reluctantly to let them have the old tractor. He had thought for a bit about asking them to pay for it, but after getting a look from Mrs. Twist, he told them to go ahead and take it. It really was of no use to him, and just taking up space in his barn. They hooked it up behind the new tractor and hauled it on home, with Jack driving the new tractor and Ennis riding behind on the old one to steer and break when necessary. They maneuvered it into the front area of the barn so they could work on it whenever they had the time. Then they walked the two and a half miles back to get their truck.

It took a full week, but Jack got their plowing finished while Ennis got the floor and the fireplace mostly finished. For their floor, he placed a layer of bricks down after leveling the area and making a framework with their odds and ends of two-by-fours that he scabbed together. Then he added the wood across the top of the bricks. This way if they took a heavy rain, it would run under their wood floor. They now had a floor across the back side of the barn; fifteen feet out from the back wall, and thirty feet across the entire width of the barn. This included the end stalls on either side; one they tore down, the other they incorporated into their space, and converted into their 'bathroom' where they had installed Jack's port-a-potty from his camping supplies. That left the four stalls on either side so there would be plenty of room for their horses, and any others they might get. The center of the left side wall of their area, was bricked up, four foot wide and five foot tall; and a small platform was added out of cinder-blocks and brick for the stove to sit on.

"Wow, that looks great!" Jack complimented Ennis on his work as he helped him move their few things up on their new floor, four inches up off the ground. "The fireplace looks finished to me. We even got us a mantel and everythin. What's left to do to it?"

"The chimney. It needs a couple more feet in height. I need to clean some more a these bricks. I used a bunch for the floor, and wall behind the stove."

"It's gonna be great to cook on, and we'll have two sources of heat." Jack said as the two of them lifted the stove up into place.

"It's warmer in here already with that fireplace wall finished." Jack said admiring Ennis' work where he used some of the old barn wood to close up the wall and included a door, which was placed between the sink and the fireplace. "This place is really shapin up."

"Uh huh." Ennis nodded, proud of his work. It turned out a lot better than he thought it would. "We lucked out getting this stove and the cabinet. Now we got somethin to put our food and dishes in."

"You got this stove the perfect height." Jack commented.

"It'll be good to have come winter." Ennis nodded.

"Is it gonna be much of a job puttin the stove pipe in?" Jack asked.

"Nah. I hate that I get to do all the inside work, while you're out there in the heat." He pumped a cup of nice cool well water for Jack.

"Thanks." Jack took it and drank it down. "I don't mind the heat. And I'd be glad to help inside, if I knew how. Plowin, I know. I don't know nothin about makin floors or brick layin. I'm gonna spread the grass seed tomorrow, then it'll be time to start on the vegetable garden."

"Okay, good. One more day then. I'll get the chimney finished, the stove pipe in, and clean up the stove; then I can help with the garden, day after tomorrow."

x x x x

Jack and Ennis were on their knees in the garden putting the tomato plants in, when Mrs. Twist drove up.

"Oh good; you're both here." She greeted them as they came walking over to her. "I needed to share somethin with you right away."

"What is it, Momma? Has somethin happened?"

"Well, sort of." She grinned at them. "How do the two of you feel about pork? You like it?"

"Absolutely. We love it. Are you cookin a pork roast for dinner?" Jack asked as he led her over to where their two lawn chairs sat in the shade of a big old cotton-wood tree next to the barn.

"No, son. I just come from church, and pastor Harris made an announcement. There's a young couple got a place about ten miles out on the road toward Rocky Point. They got a pig farm. The fella took a fall when he was off fishin, and broke his ankle. They need help real bad, but they don't have cash money to pay for it. They got two fields they need plowed, and some logs already brought in they need chopped into firewood. They're willin to trade a whole pig, butchered, packaged, and frozen, to whoever does the work for 'em. I thought a the two a you right off. You think you might be interested?"

"We don't have our freezers yet. You think Pa will let us to go ahead and put 'em in now?"

"Oh he'll let you all right. If he don't, he'll regret it." She smiled.

Ennis and Jack both grinned.

"When would they need us to start? We still got another day's work gettin our vegetables planted." Ennis asked.

"I'm sure that can be worked out. It's a really good offer though, so I thought you might want to call 'em right away before anyone else did. If you want the job, that is."

"We want it." Jack and Ennis said at the same time.

"I thought you might. Why don't you come on over to the house and make that call. I got the number in my purse."

"Let's go." Jack nodded to Ennis.

"You make the call. I'll finish up these tomato plants." Ennis said.

"Okay." Jack agreed and took off after his mom.

x x x x

"Jeez, Cowboy; you should a heard him! I thought he was gonna jump right through the phone he was so happy."

"So we can start day after tomorrow then? Did you get directions to his place?" Ennis asked wiping his hands.

"He said that'd be fine. I got directions. It'll be easy to find."

And it was easy to find. Just nine miles out, and two gates past the old Brylcreem sign. They drove up the driveway and found a neat old farmhouse with four little kids playing in the small fenced-in yard beside it, and old woman hanging clothes on a line.

"You'd be the Twist boy?" An old man sitting in a rocker on the front porch asked as they walked up.

"That's right. Is Sam around?"

"He be right out. The kids saw you comin and tole him. I be Barnaby Carson. Pleased to meet you." He stuck out a weathered old hand, but didn't get up.

"Jack Twist," Jack said, "And this is my partner, Ennis del Mar."

"Pleased to meet you boys. We surely do appreciate the help."

Sam Lawson laboriously made his way out the door on crutches, while his very pregnant wife followed along behind.

They made their introductions and got down to business as soon as Sam made it over to a chair and got settled in. The job was as straight forward as it was told. This time, Ennis did the plowing while Jack worked the chainsaw and log splitter on the downed trees. It took three days, and each day at noon they were invited in to have a meal with the family. Everything home made and delicious.

On the last afternoon, Ennis was spending time cleaning up the tractor.

"Jack?" Sam called to him from the porch. "Could you give us a hand here? We got some boxes on the top shelf of the pantry we need to get down, and they're too heavy for the women."

"Sure enough." He was glad to have something to do while waiting for Ennis to finish. He walked into the kitchen to find every cabinet, every spot on the table, covered with canning jars.

"The women are sorting out their canning jars, and deciding what to keep and what to take to Goodwill." Sam explained.

"You got some jars you don't need, we'd be happy to take 'em off your hands. We been lookin to find some... cheap." Jack said as he lifted the eight boxes down.

"Oh thank you so much for your help." Sam's wife said. "With my mother and grandmother just moving in with us, we each have a huge supply of jars, and we just have to get rid of some of them."

"How much you want for 'em?" Jack asked.

"We wouldn't take a penny for them." The young woman said. "If you'll just haul those off for us, you'll be savin us a trip into town to Goodwill, and we'll consider us even."

Jack happily began loading the eight cartons of jars into the back of his pickup.

"What's all this?" Ennis asked as he came over when he finished with the tractor, and stowed it in the barn.

"They had a bunch a cannin jars they were gonna take to Goodwill. They give 'em to us instead." Jack grinned.

"They give 'em to you? You didn't offer to pay 'em somethin?" Ennis asked as he helped load the last few boxes.

"I did, but she said she wouldn't take a penny for 'em. Said we'd be even, just takin 'em off her hands, and savin her a trip into town to Goodwill."

They loaded up to leave, when the oldest kid ran out of the house and handed Ennis a paper sack through the truck window. "Thanks for helpin us." She smiled and ran back inside.

"What is it?" Jack asked as he pulled off down the driveway and headed home.

"Cookies!" Ennis pulled one out and handed it to Jack before grabbing another and downing it.

"Mmmmm, oatmeal raisin." Jack murmured. "I thought I smelled some bakin goin on. Did he say when we could pick up the pork?"

"He said Friday." Ennis answered around a mouthful of cookie.

"Good. That'll give us tomorrow to get out and get our freezers." Jack reached for another cookie. "Once we get 'em, we can start buyin a little somethin extra each grocery day, and freeze it for winter."

"That's a good idea. I just hate that we have to take money out a our savins though." Ennis complained.

"I know, but we agreed; we need freezers. We'll have us a bunch a pork on Friday, and we'll need a place to keep it. And we'll need 'em soon anyway, for when we go huntin come fall." Jack reasoned.

"That's true." Ennis said, as they pulled up to their place. "I just hate that you're havin to pay for everythin."

"Don't worry about it." Jack said as he parked. "It won't be that way forever. And look how much money you're savin us by fixin us up our place in the barn. I never could a come up with somethin like that in a million years. And what little money we spent on that, come from the Patterson money we both earned."

"Well, it ain't much; but it's ours, and it's paid for." Ennis agreed.

"It's gonna be great once we get that front wall up." Jack said. "I particularly like that we got the bathroom walled in now, and that little window we found fit in there just perfect."

"It did for a fact." Ennis agreed as he stood beside the truck looking around. "You know... I really like this place. It's nice and peaceful and quiet out here."

"It is." Jack agreed as they started unloading the boxes of canning jars, and carrying them inside.

"We need to start checkin our rabbit traps every day. The garden is startin to come up now, so they'll be out there on the prowl."

"Momma makes a real fine rabbit stew. We need to get her recipe." Jack said as they carried the last few boxes in and stacked them in an empty stall.

"They freeze good too." Ennis said. "We always had some in our freezer, and momma canned some too."

"I didn't know you could can meat." Jack said.

"Yep. Momma always did." Ennis assured him.

"Do you know how to can stuff?" Jack asked.

"I got the general idea; but it wouldn't hurt to see if we can find a book or somethin to tell us exactly how it's done. We wouldn't wanna make any mistakes. It could ruin the food you're tryin to save, and could make you really sick if you do it wrong."

"I'll ask momma. She might have a book like that we could borrow. She's got lots a old books."

"Good idea." Ennis agreed.

CHAPTER NINE

"Oh, I love spring." Jack sighed as they finished lunch with the folks after spreading the seed for them. "I think it's my favorite season. What's your favorite season?" He elbowed Ennis who was sitting beside him.

"Me?" Ennis shrugged. "I like 'em all. Spring is... spring is real fine. The winter is past, everythin is turnin green and growin. It's time for plantin, and new animals are bein born. I like spring a lot. Summer is real good too. I like the warmth of a summer sun, eatin lots a fresh vegetables from the garden, mowin and balin hay for the animals. Summer is real good. Now fall is great too. We get to go huntin, get our freezers filled, bring in the last of the fruit and vegetables and do the cannin. I really like the fall. Then there's winter. It's all beautiful and covered with snow like a picture post card. Alls you gotta do in winter is see to the animals, and spend the rest a the day sittin in front a the fireplace readin or lookin through recipe books decidin what to fix for dinner. Winter's for relaxin and plannin for the comin year. I really couldn't pick a favorite season. I like 'em all."

"Well, you've got a real love for the land in you, Ennis." Mrs. Twist said with a fond smile.

"I do for a fact." Ennis nodded. "Momma always used to say, it was either born in you, or it wasn't. So most people either loved it, or hated it. I loved it. My brother K.E.; he hated it."

"I thought the two a you traveled all over doin ranch work after your folks passed." Jack said.

"We did, and he griped about it every minute a every day. When we was kids, he used to pay me to do his chores for him whenever he could."

"Pay you?" The old man asked. "He had cash money for such nonsense?"

"Not a whole lot. But once a month, when K.E. turned twelve and I was nine, Daddy would give K.E. five dollars to clean out the barn. K.E. hated the work, and dad always griped for days on end that he never did a good job. So I made a deal with K.E. for half the money dad gave him, and I cleaned out the barn. It worked out real well."

The old man snickered. "You're not very good at makin deals; are you? Why didn't you just tell your dad about it, and you'd a got the entire five dollars?"

"Well you see, it had to do with K.E. He was a real bully. Gave everyone smaller than him a real hard time. I was a skinny little kid, and he was built like an ox. He used to knock me around all the time, make up lies about me, and try to get me in trouble. We was at it all the time. Then I got the idea about the barn. That's when I made him the deal, I clean out the barn, get half a the money dad paid him, and he had to lay off a me. K.E. was happy, he got two-fifty for doin nothin. I was happy that I got K.E. off a my back, and a chance to actually do some real ranch work, _and_ earn a little cash money. Dad was happy that the barn got cleaned out real good, and momma was happy that most a the fightin stopped. So in the long run, it turned out just fine."

"You are a true diplomat, Ennis." Mrs. Twist smiled at him.

x x x x

The day of the church rummage sale was set, and the day before, the two of them busied themselves carrying everything down from the attic. Large tables were being set up in the main room where they had been instructed to take everything. One old man was struggling with setting up the tables, so Jack and Ennis gave him a hand.

People began showing up with their items, and everything was being unpacked and put on display. They were summoned out to the parking lot several times to help carry things inside. This hadn't been part of their deal for the Hoosier, but they did so without complaint as it seemed to them there wasn't a single person out there under sixty or seventy years old.

"We'll be back tomorrow after the sale is over." Ennis told Pastor Harris after everything quieted down.

"We'll take whatever doesn't sell back up to the attic for you."

Pastor Harris thanked them profusely saying that the full day's work that they had just put in hadn't been part of their deal, neither was returning the unsold items to the attic; and he wanted them to know that he really appreciated their time and efforts.

When they returned the next day to finish their job, they found Mrs. Twist talking with Pastor Harris.

"Hey, Momma!" Jack greeted her with a hug. "You still here? I thought the sale was over at four o'clock?"

"It was, but you're not gonna believe what I found!" She greeted the two of them.

"You're momma was just tellin me that you might have some use for this old ice box." Pastor Harris said as he stepped aside. There behind him stood a beat up old ice box.

"Holy smokes!" Ennis said, and began going over it, opening all the doors and checking it out.

"Where did this come from?" Jack asked. "It wasn't here yesterday."

"It came in first thing this morning." Pastor Harris said. "It's in pretty bad shape, but I looked it over, and it's intact, drip pans and all."

"How much?" Ennis asked.

"Well now, I been thinkin about that." Pastor Harris said as he fingered his chin. "It's not somethin that many people would want. Most people around here had one a these back in the days before electricity, and don't want nothin to do with it. So it's not actually worth much. Maybe about a day's work for a couple a young fellas." He grinned.

"What kind a work?" Ennis asked.

"Work that's already been done, son. If you can get any use out of it; take it. It's yours." Pastor Harris smiled.

"No kiddin?" Jack grinned.

"That's right. The two a you put in a whole lot more work than we bargained for, for that old Hoosier that was just takin up space in the attic. So if the two a you will haul the rest a this stuff that didn't sell, back up there; the ice box is yours."

"How about the people who owned it?" Ennis asked. "Won't they be mad when they find out you just gave it away?"

"It actually came to us from one of our parishioner's wills." The Pastor said. "She was a hundred and three years old, and she put it in her will that anythin that the kids and grandkids didn't want, they were to donate to the church. They're all from out a state, so they'll never know, or care, what happens to it, or any of the other stuff they brought. They were just glad to be rid of it, and all her other things, so they could get on back home to California."

"I guess it's ours then." Jack grinned.

"After we carry all these boxes up to the attic." Ennis reminded him.

"Right." Jack agreed. "Are all a these ready to go up then?"

"You can start with these right here." Pastor Harris said. "By the time you get these up there, the rest will be ready.

x x x x

"It's in pretty rough shape." Jack said as they unloaded the ice box and carried it into the barn.

"It is, but it's all there." Ennis said as he, once again, went through all the compartments. "We'll need some sandpaper, a can a stain, and a paint brush. We should probably change out these hinges too. Looks like the door handles and latches work pretty good so we wouldn't have to replace them unless we can get 'em cheap."

"Now that's somethin I can help with." Jack said. "I done some sandin before."

"Good, cause there's a lot here to sand. We need to get all a this old stain off before we re-stain it. We're gonna end up with a real nice ice box, for next to nothin."

"Which one's the ice compartment?" Jack asked.

"This one here." Ennis opened the smallest compartment.

"Hmmm; that's about the size a one a those small Styrofoam ice chests. We ought to buy a couple of those, fill 'em with water and freeze 'em. By the time we get the ice box refinished, they should be frozen."

"Good idea, Bud. Those are real cheap, and the ice should be just about the right size."

x x x x

It took them a full week to get the ice box the way they wanted it. It took three days to get it sanded. Once that was finished, then came the sealer, stain, and clear coat. After they were sure it was set, they attached the new hardware. And presto! They had a beautiful, fully functional, ice box for less than fifty dollars for the stain and a complete new set of hardware.

x x x x

By the time their vegetable garden was up barely a few inches, the rabbits came. From the eight traps they put out, they were catching three or four nearly every day. Some they ate, some they froze, and some they gave to Mr. and Mrs. Twist. By the end of June, they took their first load of skins in to the furrier. Ten dollars a skin didn't seem like much, but for the twenty skins they brought in, they ended up with two hundred dollars.

"Good deal!" Jack was complimenting him as they left the shop.

"It sure is!" Ennis agreed. "And it didn't cost us nothin!"

"That's the best part!" Jack grinned. "So, I'm guessin you got plans for that money?"

"I do. Two-by-fours and some nails, so we can close up our front wall. That's gonna take up most of it, but it should leave fifty or sixty. I figured to spend that on food. Unless you think we should spend it on somethin else?"

"Nope. Whatever you think we should spend it on; that's what we'll do." Jack assured him. "I thought you were gonna just brick up that front wall? What do you need all a those two-by-fours for?"

"Well you can't just stack those bricks up and stick 'em together. All those pieces a plywood we been collectin, we're gonna use on the outside a the two-by-four framework, then we can brick it up, and it'll hold good. We already got a door we can use. And the rest a the two-by-fours are gonna be for a roof."

"Do we really need a roof?" Jack asked. "I mean... we're inside; we already got a roof."

"When it gets good and cold, we wouldn't be able to keep the place heated if we didn't have us a roof on our little area. We'll build it to the loft height, and level it off there. Being as we're inside, we can make it just a flat roof. That'll give us more storage area up there."

"That makes sense. Without the roof, I guess we'd be tryin to heat the whole barn." Jack reasoned.

"That's right. And this old barn is far from air tight. Come winter, we'll be glad we got our little area all enclosed." Ennis explained.

"Okay. I'm sold. Home Depot it is." Jack grinned. "What about insulation? Shouldn't we spend any left over money on some insulation?"

"The furrier said he could take all the furs we can supply. I'm hopin we'll continue gettin about fifteen or twenty a week. At least durin peak growin season for our garden. By the time we get our frame work up all around, we should have another nice load a furs to take in. That should give us enough for insulation, and any plywood we might have to buy. I wanna still keep on hittin all three a those dumps each week. I'm hopin we can find enough scrap pieces a plywood so we don't have to buy any."

"Sounds good. I know the folks sure are happy with the rabbit meat we been givin 'em. It'll be nice to have a bunch in the freezer for winter." Jack said as he pulled up and parked at Home Depot.

"Yeah; they sure are good eatin." Ennis agreed. "I just hope they keep on comin, at least for a couple more weeks so we can get our place finished."

x x x x

By the end of summer, they had their placed closed up, and insulated; the interior walls and ceiling, they paneled with white bead board; and their built-in shelves piled high with groceries – some canned from their vegetable garden, some bought at discount prices from dented can sections at the grocery store, or purchased on sale days.

A trip into town to Goodwill and they found an old sofa bed, and a four-drawer chest they bought. Jack's camp table was set up, along with the lawn chairs, for their kitchen area. It was time to move in. It would be hard to tell who was more excited about it. With each item moved into place, their grins seemed to widen. Ennis had sheets and blankets from his couch/bed in his trailer, so they didn't have to worry about buying any as they fit their new sofa bed perfectly.

He watched as Jack whistled while he cleaned up that evening.

"What are you smilin at?" Jack asked as he finished.

"You. You look happy." Ennis grinned as he tossed Jack the towel.

"I am." Jack declared as he dried off.

Ennis continued to smile; a smile he felt all the way down to his toes.

x x x x

September

They had just brought in the last load of hay, and got the bales stacked in the loft along with the winter oats for their horses, when Mrs. Twist drove up.

"Hey, Momma. What's up?" Jack greeted her with a hug.

"You got your place finished?" She noticed through the open barn door.

"We do, for now." Jack said. "It's kinda 'a work in progress'. We got more we wanna do to it; but it'll do for now."

"Oh my goodness; and all a these bricks you got for free at the dump?" She asked.

"Uh huh." Jack opened the door and took her inside. "See how nice it turned out?"

"Oh, that ice box turned out just beautiful!" That was the first thing that caught her eye. "And look at that stove! It looks brand new!"

"It works just perfect, too." Jack assured her.

Ennis was busy pulling the blankets and pillows off their opened out second-hand sofa-bed, lifted the back and returned it to sofa position.

"And this is what you've been sleepin on?" She asked. "Why don't you take that bed you bought a few years ago for your room at the house. You'll be a lot more comfortable, and it looks like you got plenty a room for it."

"I never even thought a that." Jack said. "That's a great idea!"

"I have to admit that when you told me the two a you'd be livin in a barn, I thought it was a horrible idea. But you've turned it into a real nice little livin area back here."

"We got lots more we're gonna do with the place, Momma; but it'll have to wait until next year when we got some cash comin in again."

"And all a this beautiful white bead-board you got with your rabbit money?" She asked Ennis as she was looking at the ceiling and walls.

"Uh huh." Ennis said, after he put a pot of coffee on. "That money come in real handy. We got the place closed up, got a lot a groceries stashed for the winter, and we also got a couple a parts for the tractor."

"That old tractor?" She asked, surprised. "You think you'll be able to get it runnin? It never did work right; not for years and years."

"Well, we stripped it all the way down to bare bones, and gave it a good cleanin. Now whenever we get a few extra bucks, we buy a part for it. Once we get all we need, we'll put it back together and it should be good as new."

"You're so clever, Ennis. I don't know how you managed to learn all these things." She praised him.

"It comes from havin to make-do with next to nothin all my life." He said simply. "My dad was a mechanic, and he took us kids to work with him durin the summer when school was out. That's where I learned to work on motors. The other stuff I just learned workin a hundred different jobs over the years."

"Speakin a workin; I got another job offer for you, if you're interested?" She looked from one of them to the other.

"What is it, Momma? We ain't lookin for nothin full time. It's almost huntin season, so we'll be headin out to get us an elk in a couple a weeks."

"Jerry and Edith Wineland have a small apple orchard. Their two nephews usually come up from Denver every year to pick apples for 'em; but this year they can't. They had a accident and one of 'em got a broken leg, and the other a broken arm; so neither of 'em can do any work for the next several weeks. And by then, it'll be too late."

Ennis placed a cup of coffee in front of her as she and Jack sat at their small camp table. She sipped it and went on. "Those apples won't wait that long. They need to be picked now."

"How big a orchard they got?" Ennis asked.

"She didn't say, but what she did say was that it'd be a week's work for two, and that she'd pay what she usually paid her nephews, two-hundred each."

"Whew! Four hundred dollars for a week's work." Jack whistled. "What do you think, Cowboy?"

"When would they need us to start?" Ennis asked.

"As soon as possible." Mrs. Twist said.

"We were gonna go fishin tomorrow." Jack said. "Course, that would still leave another week before we're off huntin."

"Uh huh. There's no reason we can't do all three." Ennis reasoned. "We pick apples for a week, then get in a couple a fishin trips, before we take off huntin. Or if we're too tired after pickin apples, we can rest up that week; go huntin, and fish after we get beck."

"True. We don't have to stick to anybody's schedule but our own." Jack agreed.

x x x x

"Oh my goodness!" Mrs. Twist exclaimed as Jack and Ennis entered the kitchen, each carrying a bushel basket of apples.

"These are for you, Momma." Jack announced proudly as Ennis slipped out and brought in another basket full.

"So you're stealin now from the people that just paid you good money to pick apples for 'em?" Mr. Twist gave a disgusted shake of his head.

"No, dad. We didn't steal 'em." And to his momma, he said, "They give us six bushels of apples, Momma. We're keepin three for us, and these three are for you."

"Now why on earth would they give away that many apples, when they'd bring in good money at the market?" The old man asked.

"She said she always gave her nephews the left overs for helpin her." Ennis said as he placed the last of the three baskets of fruit on the floor. "She said they knew exactly how many bushels they needed, and whatever extra they got, we could keep."

"We showed her there were six left, and she said for us to take 'em." Jack added.

"Oh, this is just wonderful!" Mrs. Twist gushed. "I was plannin on buyin a bunch a apples when Farmer's Market opens. Now I can spend that money of somethin else."

"I wouldn't wanna spend it on anythin just yet." The old man scoffed. "Knowin Jack; he's probably got somethin he wants to trade for 'em."

"Nonsense." She said right back at him. "As a matter of fact, I was gonna ask 'em if they wanted some a those berries I canned in the spring. Remember you were saying that we'd never eat all a them? Well, you're right about that. Our bushes provided much more this year than we'll need. So this will make us even. We accept the gift of these apples, and they'll accept the gift of those berries."

Jack and Ennis both grinned, the old man scowled, and poured himself another cup of coffee.

Mrs. Twist glowed triumphantly.

"Why, thank you, Momma." Jack grinned. "We'd be happy to accept whatever berries you don't think you'll need."

"So they give you the apples instead a payin you the cash money they promised?" The old man asked.

"Nah, we got the money." Jack said.

"Bet you got it already spent too; don't you." Mr. Twist chided. "You never did have no sense when it came to money. If you did, you wouldn't a walked away from that gold mine Lureen."

"As a matter of fact, we do already have plans for it." Ennis said, not wanting Jack to get into it any further with his dad. "We're gonna buy us half a dozen fruit trees, put a little of it in savings, and buy some Christmas presents for our kids." He explained, and then added, "Not that it's anyone's business what we do with the money we earn."

"Do you have time for a cup a coffee?" Mrs. Twist asked sweetly, hoping to smooth things over.

"No, Momma. We need to get on home. We stopped in town and picked up some more cannin supplies and we wanna get after our apples first thing."

"I hear you're goin fishin." The old man said. "You should plan on bringin whatever you catch over here, and let your momma show you how to cook 'em properly."

Jack started to say somethin nasty, but Ennis stopped him. "C'mon, Bud. Let's just get your bed and go. We need to get home and get after these apples. We can worry about the fish later."

"You come by tomorrow and I'll have a bunch a berries sorted out for you." Mrs. Twist said with a smile. She hugged her son, and gave Ennis' arm a squeeze. "Thank you for the apples." She nodded, but it was clear to all present that she was thankin Ennis for more than the apples.

x x x x

It took them two full days to can the apples, leaving a bunch of them out for eating. Then it was time to go fishing. The area around the Little Powder was nice and quiet, and they enjoyed their few days immensely. Their home-made truck-camper kept them warm and comfortable. Once they caught their limit, they headed on home. They stopped at the Twist ranch and took in a nice sized fish and gave it to Mrs. Twist.

"It's about time." Mr. Twist griped. "That all you got? Just one?"

"Oh my; doesn't that look delicious! The two a you'll have dinner with us?" Mrs. Twist asked.

"No, Momma. We had fish for dinner the last two nights. We're havin spaghetti tonight; but thanks for askin. We're just gonna stick our fish in the freezer, grab some ice, and take off."

The two of them headed to the basement with their container of fish, already wrapped and labeled for freezing.

"You think we should start locking our freezers?" Ennis asked as they placed their fish inside. "I don't trust your old man."

"I don't trust him either, but I know he don't cook, and Momma wouldn't cook anythin that she knew wasn't theirs." Jack said as he took out a chunk of ice for their ice box. "It wouldn't hurt though. No tellin what he's likely to do. Do you have the keys?"

"Nah; I was hopin you might have them."

"I haven't seen 'em since we bought the freezers." Jack admitted.

"Last I saw 'em they were in the top drawer in the Hoosier." Ennis said.

"Let's look for 'em when we get home. We need to get 'em on our key rings." Jack said. "I'd hate to think that he'd actually do somethin to our food, but you can't put anythin past him."

x x x x

"So are we gonna get any a that elk meat? If you do manage to get one?" The old man asked as the four of them sat at the Twist table having coffee.

"Well, that depends." Jack leaned back, crossed his legs, and drummed his finger tips on the table. "Are we gonna get any beef when you take your cows in to butcher?"

"You absolutely will." Mrs. Twist assured them.

"Now don't you go bargainin our food supply away, Woman." The old man snorted.

"That's only fair, Dad. How about we trade for it pound for pound. We give you elk meat in trade for the beef?"

"Well now, I don't know about that." The old man shook is head. "You get that elk meat for free; and I have to pay good money for them cows."

"All right then." Jack finished his coffee and stood. "You go get your own elk meat then. We'll find someone else willin to trade us some beef." He nodded to Ennis, and the two of them readied to leave.

"Now just a minute here." The old man back pedaled. "We can work somethin out. I don't know about pound for pound though. Them cows cost me cash money, then more cash money to feed 'em; I got a lot more invested in my cows than you have in some old elk you get for free. Maybe if we traded two pounds a elk meat, for one pound a beef. Somethin like that'd be a lot more to my likin."

"Well it ain't to my likin." Jack snarled back at him. "It's pound for pound, or you can go get your own elk."

"You probably won't even get one anyway." The old man sniffed. "They're not gonna just stand there and let you shoot 'em, you know."

"Nonsense!" Ennis scoffed. "Let's go. He don't wanna be fair about it, that's his business. We don't have to deal with him. I'm sure there's plenty a people around who'd be willin to trade with us."

"Exactly." Jack agreed. He gave is momma a kiss on the cheek and the two of them left.

x x x x

"Now see what good your foolishness has done?" Mrs. Twist railed at her husband. "You keep this up and you'll antagonize them to the point where you'll end up doin all the work again, instead of spendin your days in front a the TV."

"You don't know what you're talkin about, Woman. Those boys need me and my tools, a lot more than I need them. I run this ranch for more than forty years without their help; I can do it again."

"You might be kiddin yourself, but you're not kiddin me. You're stiffer, and ache more than ever. You been takin that Tylenol lately like it's candy." She countered.

"Well, I was right! They don't have to pay one red cent for an elk. I gotta pay a lot a money for each a them cows. How's it right that I should have to trade them pound for pound?"

"I just hope you're lookin forward to gettin back on that tractor – which Jackie bought for you, if you remember correctly – because you keep this attitude a yours up, that's what's gonna happen."

"Nonsense. What'd they do without my tractor? They'd never be able to make a go out a there place without it. They know it, and so do I."

"By next year, they'll have that old tractor workin. We'll see then just exactly who needs who the most." She said.

"That old piece a junk I give 'em?" The old man laughed. "They'll never get that piece a shit to run. It never ran right from day one. I don't care what kind a mechanic ole lover-boy Ennis is, it'd take a magician it get that thing workin again."

"Well, they've got it all stripped down, cleaned up, and every chance they get, they buy another new part for it. Pretty soon, they'll have it all put back together, and my money's on Ennis. I'm bettin he'll have that thing runnin like a charm before you know it."

The old man's face dropped. He hadn't expected that. "It'll never run again. Never!"

"We'll see about that." She turned, re-wrapped the fish, and placed it in the refrigerator. "And before you know it, they'll have their own chain saw and log splitter. Think about that while you're sittin in front a that TV. Think about nobody doin your work for you, nobody choppin your wood, or bringin you free bushels a apples; no more rabbits, or fish, or elk."

The old man shut his mouth, and left the room; heading for his easy chair and the TV.

CHAPTER TEN

September

"That's a real fine elk!" Jack said. "You think we can find someone to trade us some beef for some a the meat?"

"I don't know, Bud." Ennis stuck his pencil and paper in his jacket pocket after marking his harvest ticket, and began working on the carcass. "Are you wantin to trade with your dad the way he wants to?"

"No!" Jack insisted as the two of them worked side by side. "I'd rather stand on a street corner and give the meat away, than agree to his terms."

Ennis gave a little huff. "I don't know about that." He grinned. "If he don't agree to our pound for pound offer; I think we should freeze what we got room for, and maybe try cannin the rest if we can't find no one else to trade with us. We still got some a that apple money. We can just go out and buy some beef. Or we can do without. We got lots a rabbit, fish, pork, and now elk. "

"I hadn't thought about cannin it." Jack agreed. "That's a good idea."

"That book your momma give us about cannin has a whole section in it how to can meat, and it included fish and game meat. It probably won't be near as tasty as frozen, but it'd still be better than havin to deal with your dad."

"That's for sure." Jack agreed. "I'm hopin momma can bring him around to bein fair about all a this."

"I hope so too." Ennis said. "As much as I dislike dealin with the old man, I'd sure hate to have him break our deal we got goin with him. We still need a couple more parts before we can start puttin that tractor back together; and if he gets mad enough, he might make us take our freezers out a their cellar."

"I don't see that happenin." Jack said. "He's in no shape to get back on that tractor and start doin his own work again. He'd have to pretty much give up his after dinner fires that he's so fond of. I don't think he'd want any a that to happen. He's just like an old tom cat, posturin in front of the new toms on the block. He's tryin to show us he's the one in charge a things."

Ennis laughed. "He ain't in charge a nothin no more, but what channel he watches on that TV a his. He just don't know it yet."

"When he puts a pencil to it, after we take his calves to market, he'll see how much money we saved him in the long run." Jack said. "You think we'll actually get that old tractor to run?"

"Yeah, pretty sure. With all new parts, I don't see why it wouldn't work. I wouldn't be spendin all that money on parts if I wasn't about ninety-nine percent sure it's gonna work." Ennis assured him.

"Well good then." Jack grinned. "Once we have our own workin tractor, we can start lookin for a few head a stock here and there."

"You don't think the two a us should be lookin for work come spring? Even buyin a cow or horse here and there is gonna cost money. And money's somethin we're in short supply of."

"We'll have to for sure if the old man breaks off our deal." Jack admitted. "I'd really like to try and make it without workin full time. I wouldn't mind findin some part time work though. I been thinkin – maybe we could tell Pastor Harris that if he hears of anyone needin part time help, he could give momma a call. That might bring some work in, and it'd still leave us time to work both ranches."

"I was wonderin... has Pastor Harris said anythin to you about the two a us livin together?" Ennis asked.

"No, not a word. You?"

"Nah. Nothin." Ennis admitted. "You think he suspects? Would your momma a told him?"

"Momma wouldn't a said a word to nobody. That much I know for sure." Jack said. "As for whether he might suspect about us; I don't know. Most likely, he probably don't see it as any a his business."

"Well, it'd sure be nice if he was to get us some job offers. That'd be really good. Then we might could actually buy a head or two now and then."

"It would." Jack agreed. "And don't forget, we wanna try the Humane Society too."

"Yeah, I like that idea, Bud. Now that we got our living quarters pretty much in order, we can spend some time fixin up the rest a the barn. The whole place could use a good cleanin, and every one a those stalls need seein to."

"Yeah, I know." Jack agreed. "That's exactly why I don't wanna be doin any full time work. We still got too much to do on our place. And, unless we find out somethin different from the old man, we still got his place to look after as well."

"True." Ennis agreed. "It wouldn't hurt to keep lookin in the Sunday papers your momma gives us each week."

"Yeah. Hey, I wonder if there'd be anythin in there from someone lookin to trade meat?"

"Don't know." Ennis said as they loaded their meat into the camper. "We can check on it. That'd be another thing we could talk to Pastor Harris about. He might know somebody willin to trade beef for elk."

"Good point." Jack sighed. "I guess we'll find out when we get home if we got a deal with the old man or not."

x x x x

"Good morning, boys." Mrs. Twist greeted them cheerfully as they entered her kitchen. "Coffee?"

"That sounds real good, Momma." Jack and Ennis removed their hats, and took a seat at the table where Mr. Twist sat, quietly, with his head down, stirrin his coffee.

"So how big was the elk you got?" She asked with a smile.

"You that sure we got one?" Jack returned her smile.

"I am." She poured them each a cup of coffee, then joined them at the table with a cup of her own. "The two a you set out for an elk, I'm bettin you got one."

"Well we got one all right. Eight-hundred-seventy five pounds. That'll give us in the neighborhood a four-hundred-thirty pounds a meat." Jack said with great pride as he snuck a glance over at his dad who was still brooding over his cup of coffee.

"Oh, that's just wonderful!" She clapped her hands together. "We'll take a hundred pounds off a you, in return for a hundred pounds a beef; if that would work for the two a you?"

"That'd be real fine." Ennis answered as Jack seemed to be momentarily struck dumb.

"Also, I made a few phone calls. My friend Ginada says she'd love some elk. She and her family run a poultry farm over near Spotted Horse. If you want some chicken or turkey, she said she'd take fifty pounds if you'll go pound for pound; or if you don't have that much to trade, she'll go for any lesser amount." Mrs. Twist grinned as the old man got up and left the room without a word.

"Oh, Momma; that's great!"

"We sure do love chicken!" Ennis added.

"Now I don't know how much you're plannin on keepin, but I can make some more phone calls, if you wanna trade away any more. I can always find somebody willin to trade for food." She looked from one to the other. "Oh, I almost forgot; Gina said that our friend Nellie's husband got a permit for a elk this year, but he's been ailin and can't go. He's lookin for someone to go get an elk for him. She didn't say whether he'd be willin to pay cash money for it, or whether he'd wanna trade for somethin. He's a contractor, so you might could get him out to do some work for you; if you're interested in another huntin trip."

"What do you think?" Jack asked Ennis.

"I wouldn't mind another trip." Ennis shrugged. "I guess we need to talk with him first face to face. We'd need to make sure the permit was current, and find out what he had in mind to pay us."

"I got their phone number." Mrs. Twist got up and got the tablet sitting beside the phone with the number written on it. "They're just the sweetest people you'd ever wanna meet. They won't do you wrong. You won't have to worry none about that."

"All right, Momma." Jack said. "I'll call and set up a meetin with him."

He came back into the kitchen a few minutes later, and announced they had an appointment to meet with him at four-thirty that afternoon.

"So what do you think?" Jack asked as they drove home.

"I gotta tell you, Bud; I think I'm in love with your momma."

Jack laughed. "I been tellin you for years now that you'd love her."

"She said she and your dad had a 'nice long talk', as she put it; and any further negotiations about food would be for her to make. He has the say-so about the ranch, but she has the say-so about her kitchen and the food that does or doesn't go into it."

"No kiddin?" Jack grinned.

"No kiddin."

"What do you think the contractor is gonna offer us to get an elk for him? You ever done anythin like that before – hunt for someone else?"

"Nah, I haven't; and I got no way a knowin what he'll offer. I gotta tell you though – I'd really rather not have him come out to our place. He don't need to know anythin about our livin arrangements."

"Okay; I'm glad you reminded me a that." Jack nodded as they pulled up to their place. "Maybe he's got some used tools or somethin we could trade for."

"That's a good idea. Or maybe even some left over material, like lumber or somethin." Ennis added.

"That'd be good."

"One thing for sure though," Ennis said. "I don't wanna go for at least a week. I wanna get into town and get our fruit trees and get 'em planted. The guy at the nursery said early fall was the best time. We can agree to a huntin trip, any time after that."

x x x x

Owen Kent opened the door, greeted them with a smile and a hand shake, and invited them in. They gabbed at least thirty minutes about past hunting trips, before they got down to business. "So what can I offer you to get me an elk?" He smiled at each of them in turn. "I've never done this before – paid someone to hunt for me. I've always been the one doin the huntin; but this year, I'm just not up to it."

"We never hunted for anybody before either." Jack said. "We got no idea at all what to ask for."

"We got an old barn we're lookin to fix up. We could use some lumber if you got any left overs from your work; or any other kind a buildin supplies." Ennis suggested.

"Well, I got some. Let's go take a look." He showed them out the back door to his storage shed. "All a this here I was gonna use to build a porch across the back a the house; but since I hurt my back; that ain't gonna happen for another year at least. No sense a lettin it all just sit here. But that wouldn't be enough." He stood and looked around his shed for somethin more to offer.

"What's that over there in the corner; under that tarp?" Ennis asked pointing off to a darker corner.

"Huh? That? That's a big ole claw-foot bath tub. My son brought that in a couple years ago and was going to re-finish it and put it in their house. But they ended up gettin divorced, and he said the hell with it. You want that old thing?"

Ennis didn't want to seem too eager, so asked about the ladders standing beside the tub. "How about one a these extension ladders? You got an extra one you don't need? I see you got a bunch of 'em."

"What size you lookin for?"

"Twenty-four foot. Somethin I can get up on a second story roof easily with."

"I got several that size. Okay, here's my offer. How about the stack of lumber, the bath tub, and a ladder? Does that sound fair? I got about eight-hundred in that lumber, I know for a fact that my son paid two-hundred-twenty for that tub at auction cause I was with him when he bought it. And these ladders, that size go for close to a hundred." He also added that if they came back with anything over three-hundred-fifty pounds of elk meat, they could have it.

Jack and Ennis took a good look at the tub and ladder, and agreed to the deal.

x x x x

"Jesus, Jack; this elk is way bigger than the last one we got. You did real good!" He pounded Jack on his shoulders for the shot.

The elk they got for Mr. Kent went eleven-hundred pounds and produced a little over five-hundred pounds of meat. He was thrilled with the deal, and happily turned the lumber, tub, and ladder over to them. The meat they could pick up in a few days over at the butcher shop.

"I hope momma can find someone to trade for some a this meat." Jack grinned with pride after the butcher told them how much meat their elk produced.

Mrs. Twist came up with three other people who wanted the elk meat. Two of them, paid cash money. Each paid a hundred dollars for fifty pounds; the third traded them an old dining room table, four chairs, and small china cabinet for fifty pounds.

They were thrilled with their take. The hunting trip for Mr. Kent landed them, a bath tub, a goodly sized stack of lumber, two hundred dollars cash money, and some furniture that they badly needed.

"This is great!" Jack said as they unloaded the furniture into their place in their kitchen area. "That little camp table was okay, but this is so much better!"

"We did good, all right." Ennis grinned. He loved seeing Jack so happy!

"You think you can actually get this bath tub to workin for us?" Jack asked as they struggled to unload it.

"Well, it won't be nothin fancy. We'll have to carry water from our pump to fill it; but we can, easy enough, fix up a drain line for it."

"Oh man! A nice hot bath would really go good about now." Jack enthused.

"Uh huh." Ennis agreed. "That's what I was thinkin."

"Just look at all we've accomplished in a few short months!" Jack exclaimed as they finished unloading the lumber and stacking it in one of their stalls.

"Yep. We got lucky all right." Ennis said as they finished up and headed on inside.

x x x x

"So what do you think?" Jack asked as they settled into the warm water; Jack in behind with Ennis leaning back against him.

"It's like it's some kind a dream or somethin." Ennis said. "I keep pinchin myself. We can't be this lucky."

"Why not?"

"Cause." Ennis grimaced. "Cause I ain't never been lucky in my whole life. How could all that change in just a couple a days?"

"Well now let's see." Jack thought about it for a minute. "I know you didn't get along with your brother or dad; but you seemed like you liked your sister, and I know you loved your momma."

"True."

"So you was lucky there." Jack grinned as he scooped up handfuls of water and poured it down over Ennis' shoulders. "You decided to take that sheep herdin job up on Brokeback the same year I did; so I'd say that was pretty lucky."

"Uh huh." Ennis agreed, enjoying the moment immensely.

"You didn't care much for your wife, but I know you love those girls a yours."

"Uh huh." Ennis shook his head. "I see where you're goin with this, Bud. I guess I was real lucky about some things; just not about others."

"And we got us this place. That was pretty lucky; don't you think?"

Ennis grinned. "Jack... I want this to work out so bad, it's scarin me to death. I'm afraid to even hope for it."

"We already got it, Cowboy." Jack rung the wash cloth out over Ennis' head, leavin him sputterin and laughin. "Now all we gotta do is make it work."

"We can make it work if people will just leave us alone." Ennis soaped up and passed the soap to Jack.

"We'll handle whatever comes our way." Jack assured him as he scrubbed up.

A little fooling around, they dried off, and fell into bed, exhausted.

x x x x

"I just know you'll get that tractor runnin." Mrs. Twist said as she placed a plate of fresh baked cookies down in the middle of the table.

"It's gonna do real fine, Momma." Jack said, helping himself to a cookie. "If you hear of anyone wantin to sell or trade off anythin for a tractor, you let us know."

"I certainly will." She smiled fondly at her son. "And I'll talk with Pastor Harris about it too. Have you checked the papers?"

"Not yet." Jack said after a sip of coffee. "But most a those in the papers will probably want cash money for stuff; and we'd rather trade if we can."

"What do the two a you have that any body would wanna trade for?" The old man sneered.

"Labor." Ennis answered. "It seems labor is in short supply around here, and lots a folks need a helpin hand now and then."

"That's right." Jack said. "There's all kinds a stuff we can do that people might need help with."

"Oh my goodness, I almost forgot." Mrs. Twist flustered. "I spoke with Pastor Harris this mornin, and he said to tell you there's family movin to Arizona, and need help loadin their things. I told him I'd see if the two a you were interested."

"You got the phone number, Momma?"

"Right by the phone. The Dawsons"

Jack returned from the hallway a few minutes later. "We're all set for day after tomorrow. He said it's about a day's work for two men and he'll pay us each a hundred."

"Good deal."

The old man sneered. "That won't buy you no plow!"

"Nope. But we put it in the bank until we get some more money. And before long, we'll have enough to get what we need." Jack nodded to Ennis that he was ready to leave.

"An extra two hundred is always a good thing." Ennis said as they walked to their truck.

"Sure enough." Jack said as they climbed in. "After loadin that truck for the Dawsons, we best get after fixin up Dad's stock trailer. It'll be time for market in a couple a weeks."

"Yeah; good idea." Ennis agreed. "Did he say how many he was takin to market?"

"Nah. He usually don't take all that many."

November

The trip to market went about like they expected. The old man griped the entire hundred and seventy miles to Casper. He complained about the cost of the new tires for the trailer, complained about the traffic, the cold weather, other drivers on the road, and the music on the radio even though they let him pick the station. He didn't like his breakfast, knew he wasn't going to like the lunch Mrs. Twist packed for them, knew the prices weren't going to be fair, knew the auction was going to be rigged, on and on and on for three solid hours.

He didn't like the accommodations at the auction house, didn't like the other people who were crowded around trying to get a look at all the animals being unloaded. He didn't like the looks of the announcer, and couldn't understand the auctioneer.

Their calves were among those auctioned off first, so by early afternoon they were finished and left. The old man kept his mouth shut, and brooded the entire way home.

"Oh, you're back already?" Mrs. Twist greeted them. "I just got a call from Pastor Harris. He has someone who needs their cows taken to market and wondered if you two were interested." She looked from Jack to Ennis. "You boys up for another trip?"

"What do you think?" Jack asked Ennis, then turned away so the others couldn't hear and said, "It couldn't possibly be as bad as today was."

"Sure." Ennis sighed. He had been looking forward to some rest, but knew that they needed to earn as much as they could, while they could.

Jack took the phone number from his mom and made the call, and came back into the room a few minutes later. "They live in Recluse, have their own trailer, but their driver is sick with the flu. They'll pay us each five hundred, to load, and deliver the cows. We won't even have to stay for the sale. The auctioneer is some distant relative or somethin, and will just mail them the check. I told him we'd be there first thing in the mornin."

"Good deal." Ennis was relieved. He was glad they wouldn't have to spend another day with a grumpy old rancher.

x x x x

They arrived at the ranch in Recluse at dawn the next morning, loaded up and headed south. The trip was very pleasant compared to the previous trip. They enjoyed the trip immensely, watched some of the auction to see what the cows were going for, thought about staying over to see the horses, but thought better of it when the weather turned to heavy snow. The trip home was filled with happy chatter about what they were going to do with the extra thousand dollars. They finally decided to wait until spring before spending any of it.

They had Thanksgiving dinner with the folks, ate until they were stuffed, and insisted on doing the dishes afterward before heading home for a nice nap in front of the fireplace.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

December

"You got a letter from Lureen." Ennis handed the envelope to Jack. "It took her long enough."

"I know!" Jack agreed angrily. "It's been seven months. And this don't look like divorce papers." He stared at the envelope with the tiny blue bonnets sprinkled around the edges.

"Well, maybe she's been sick or somethin." Ennis suggested.

Jack gave a sigh and tore the end of the envelope off, blew in it, slipped a finger in, and pulled out the single sheet of stationery. As he read it, a disgusted look appeared on his face.

"Somethin wrong?"

"Shit!" Jack gave a disgusted look, got up from the table, and began to pace. "She says I gotta go down there. They can't do the divorce without me bein there."

"I was afraid a that." Ennis shrugged. "I guess the judge needs to see the both a you to make it final."

"She says the hearin is scheduled for December twenty-seventh, and she needs me there at least a couple days early so we can work things out with the attorney. That means I'll miss Christmas." He gave a sad sigh.

"You wanna try and get it re-scheduled?" Ennis asked.

"Nah. Best to get it over and done with. I was just really lookin forward to us spendin this Christmas together."

"Me too, Bud. But you should be able to come back right after the hearin. At least, we'll get to greet the new year in together."

"Yeah, but we were gonna put up a tree, celebrate in style." Jack pouted.

Ennis put his arms around him, cradling Jack's head against his shoulder. "You want me to go with you?"

"Yes! No. That wouldn't be a very good idea. It wouldn't look right. As much as I'd love to have you with me; this is somethin I need to do on my own." He started to pace again. "I'd best drive down there on the twenty-third. I don't wanna be out on the road on the twenty-forth or twenty-fifth. It's too dangerous with all the holiday traffic. And that way I'll get to spend a little time with Bobby, and be there in plenty a time to go over everythin with the lawyer. I'll head on back the minute the hearin is over on the twenty-seventh. That'll get me here late that night, or early the next mornin a the twenty-eighth."

"How much would it cost to fly? We got enough money in the bank?" Ennis asked.

"I don't know, but we're not gonna waste probably every dollar we earned just to save a couple a days. I can drive down there and back for just the price a the gasoline."

"All right, Bud. Whatever you think is best. I just hate havin you make that long drive all by yourself."

"I done it a hundred times before, Cowboy. I can do it this one last time." Jack assured him.

x x x x

Jack explained the situation the next day to his folks, and told them how much he was going to miss havin Christmas dinner with them.

"Now Jackie, I know you don't take kindly to any advice from me, but you really need to listen to me about this." Mr. Twist spoke across the kitchen table. "You need to think long and hard about goin through with this before you walk away from all that money. I'm sure if you and Lureen just talk this out, she'd agree to let you come up here more often; maybe once a month even. That way you wouldn't have to give up that good-payin job you got there in Childress, and you could still come up here and fool around with Ennis."

It would be very difficult to say who was more appalled by his comment. Mrs. Twist, Jack, and Ennis all stared at him in disbelief as an uncomfortable silence filled the room.

"What?" He asked as he stared back at the three of them.

"That's the most disgustin thing I ever heard come out a your mouth!" Mrs. Twist said angrily.

"Dad... I'm forty two years old. Lureen doesn't 'let' me, or stop me from doin whatever the hell I want. Movin back up here has been my dream every since the day I left. My marriage to Lureen never should a happened. It happened because a Bobby. And Bobby was the only reason I stayed this long. He's off to school in Dallas now, and there's nothin keepin me in Texas any longer. This is where my heart is, this is where I'm happiest, this is where I belong, and this is where I'm stayin."

The old man shook his head and gave a disgruntled sigh. "Well, you might think different about it a year or two from now when the bloom wears off a all this foolishness you got goin on here – livin in a dirty old barn with your boyfriend. What are you gonna do then?"

"John Twist... I swear to God!" Mrs. Twist got up and left the table in tears.

Ennis got up and went over to her standing next to the sink where she often went in moments of frustration. He put his arm around her shoulders and stood silently with her, while Jack handled the situation.

"That's somethin you don't need to worry yourself about. Fortunately for me, you probably won't be around to see whatever happens a year or two from now. You'll be in the ground by then, hopefully, and life around here will be a pleasant thing again." Jack snapped back at him.

The old man visibly flinched; got up, and left the room.

Jack joined his momma and Ennis, slipping an arm around each of them. "I'm sorry about that, Momma."

"Don't be." She rested her head against his cheek. "He had it comin. I just don't know what it is that makes him so vile."

"Don't worry about it." He kissed her temple. "It's all over and done with for now. We're gonna take off. I wanna get an early start in the mornin. I'll see you on the twenty-eighth." He gave her a hug. "Now don't go getting into it with Dad about this. It won't do any good, and it'll only get you upset."

"I just hate to have you leave right now – right before Christmas." She said.

"It's best to get this over with. Once I get back home, we'll never have to worry about it again. We'll celebrate the new year, and make plans for spring. Just concentrate on that. You'll only make yourself sick worryin about the other nonsense."

They hugged mightily.

"And remember – Ennis is only a hop, skip, and a jump away if you need him." Jack said.

"That's right." Ennis nodded. "You need anythin, anythin at all, you just come get me." He gave her shoulder a little squeeze.

x x x x

Ennis drove over to the house on Christmas morning. "Merry Christmas." He greeted Mrs. Twist with a small hug and a peck on the cheek. "I was wonderin if you heard from Jack yet? I figured he'd call... since it's Christmas and all."

"Sit, Ennis; and have some coffee with us." Mrs. Twist welcomed him. "No; I'm afraid he hasn't called. I was hopin he would. I can't tell you how many times I've picked up that receiver to make sure the line wasn't dead." She gave him a small grin.

"Just a few more days and he'll be home." Ennis assured her. "He won't stay away any longer than he has to."

"Oh I'm sure of that." She smiled as she placed a cup of coffee in front of him.

"Have you checked the herd the last couple a days? Do you need for me to take a look at 'em?" Ennis asked the old man after sipping his coffee.

"I ain't in the grave yet, boy; I'm capable a checkin on my own herd!" He spat out angrily.

"Well, there's always hope I guess." Ennis sipped his coffee, when the ringing phone stopped him.

Mrs. Twist hurried to answer it.

x x x x

"Roberta, this is Lureen. I'm afraid I have some bad news. It's Jack... I mean, he's not dead or anythin, he's just sorta... sick."

"Jackie's sick? What's wrong? He was fine when he left here two days ago." She motioned for Ennis to join her.

"Now, don't you go get all worked up. The doctor said he'd be just fine – in time."

"Well what is it? What's wrong with him?" Mrs. Twist asked as Ennis stood close by. She reached out a hand to him, and pulled him in close, as she tilted the phone for him to hear.

"He's had some kind a break down or somethin. It's stress, the doctor says. Stress from missin his family, and wantin to be up there helpin his dad out. It's been so long, Roberta. He needs to be at home where he belongs. Home with his wife and son. I'm sure you can understand that."

"Of course, of course." Mrs. Twist swallowed hard. Something was wrong. This was not like Jackie. He wasn't the 'stressed' or 'nervous' type; she knew that. And most of all, she knew that Lightning Flat was exactly where Jack wanted to be, and wasn't the least bit 'stressed' about being away from Childress. He was happier now than he'd ever been in his life. She waited for Lureen to go on.

"He loves us all so much, he feels like he's bein torn in two. The two a you up there in Wyomin, and his family here in Texas. Fortunately, it looks like we caught it in time before anythin serious happened. The doctor says it'll take some time before he's back on his feet again, and..."

"Can I talk to him? Please Lureen, let me talk to him."

"I'm sorry, but that's not possible right now. The doctor gave him somethin to make him sleep. He's talkin about hospitalizin him if they don't get him stabilized within the next day or two."

"What's his doctor's name then? I wanna call and talk with him about Jackie's condition."

"Of course. It's: Doctor Richard Carlson. I don't have the number on me, but I'm sure information will have it."

"Richard Carlson." Mrs. Twist mumbled as she wrote the name down on the pad she kept by the phone. "And the hospital they're gonna take him to?"

"Carlson Manor. It's in Dallas. I wanted him to get the best help possible so I'll be takin him to Dallas if he doesn't stabilize within the next few days. A friend a mine went there some years ago, and she highly recommended it. We don't have any places in Childress that can compare."

"Carlson Manor, Dallas" Mrs. Twist repeated as she wrote it down. "Did this Doctor Carlson say how long he expected it would take to... to help Jackie?"

"Well, he'd be in on a ninety day observation. Once that period is over, he can better determine the extent of Jack's condition. We won't know anythin positive until then." Lureen cleared her throat and fumbled to light a cigarette. "Of course I know this is going to leave you short handed, and I'm sorry about that. Maybe you could put an ad in the paper, and get someone to come out there and work for you. It shouldn't be too costly, and it would be a load off Jack's mind if I could tell him that you had some help with the chores."

"Yes, yes, of course. You tell Jackie that we'll manage just fine. And tell him that we're thinkin about him and love him very much. And that all we want is for him to get better."

"I will. I'll tell him exactly that. And I'll see to it that he gives you a call just as soon as the doctor says it's okay for him to have a phone in his room. Now don't you worry, Roberta. I intend to see that he gets the best of care."

"Thank you, Lureen. And thank you for callin."

"You're welcome. Bye, bye now."

"Goodbye." Mrs. Twist placed the phone down. "Bitch!" She spat out at the offending instrument.

"What else did she say? Did I miss anythin?" Ennis peppered her with questions.

Mrs. Twist took a deep breath as they walked back into the kitchen. "Ennis... Jackie's in trouble. I knew somethin like this would happen if he went to Childress. I just knew it! I had a bad feelin about it, the minute he said he was goin down there."

"What? What did you know, woman? Spit it out?" Mr. Twist demanded.

Ennis struggled to breathe. Every breath felt like it might be his last, he was afraid to let it go as he stood rooted to the floor.

"I knew that if she ever got her hands on him again, that she'd never let him go." She began to weep then, dabbing at her eyes with the corner of her apron. "She said he's had some kind of breakdown; that he's stressed out, torn between bein up here with us, and down there with her and Bobby."

"That ain't true!" Ennis said.

"I know!" Mrs. Twist agreed.

"You think she's keepin him there against his will?" The old man asked.

"I _know_ she is! He'd never stay down there with her. He never loved her, not one single bit. He told me that several times over the years. His heart is right here in Wyomin. This is where he wants to be; this is where he belongs." She addressed the last two sentences to Ennis.

Ennis headed for the door.

"What're you gonna do?" Mrs. Twist asked.

"I'm gonna go get him, and bring him home before she sends him off to that hospital in Dallas."

x x x x

It was nearly three in the morning when he pulled up and parked in the alley behind six-twenty-two Valley View Drive in Childress. He got out as quietly as he could, stuck a few tools in his jacket pocket and eased himself up and over the back gate. There was just enough moonlight out, that he could make his way up to the house. He was glad the trellis that Jack had told him about was still there. He scaled it easily. On top of the patio roof, he approached the window and peered in. This was Jack's room all right. He tried the window and found it locked.

He swore silently under his breath, before spying the lock mechanism. He got out his glass cutter and made a large circle right above the lock. The tapping sounded incredibly loud to him, but he did it any way, and soon the circle of glass fell inside, first hitting the window sill with a 'ping' then falling silently to the carpeted floor below.

He didn't make a move for a full minute to make sure no one was stirring. All was quiet. He reached inside and undid the lock. The window lifted easily, and he slipped inside.

"Jack? Jack?" He gave Jack's shoulder a shake. "It's me. Come on. I come to get you out a here."

Jack didn't stir.

"Jack?" He bent down and whispered in Jack's ear. "C'mon, Bud. Let's go home."

Jack still didn't move.

"Shit." Ennis swore and looked around the room. He noticed several prescription bottles on the night stand. "So this is how they been keepin you here. C'mon, Jack. We gotta get you out a here." He stuffed the prescription bottles in his jacket pocket.

He pulled the covers back, saw the silk pajamas; and swore again. "Let's get you dressed." He went in search of Jack's clothes; found a pair of jeans, a shirt, and some underwear. It was a real struggle, but he finally got him dressed, boots and all. He found Jack's wallet and keys on the dresser and stuck them in his own pocket. He took a few minutes to catch his breath, and tried to remember what Jack had said before he'd left. Something about a stash of cash under his mattress that he wanted to get. He lifted up a corner of the mattress and found a bunch of bills. He gathered them up and stashed them in Jack's wallet. He checked another corner and found more. All four corners of the mattress had cash, as well as magazines.

"I wonder why he hid these magazines?" Ennis whispered. When he took a closer look, he found out why. They were all gay porn. "Oh jeez, Jack! You do love tuggin on Superman's cape; don't you!" He looked around for someplace to stash them. He didn't want Lureen or Bobby to find them. He spotted Jack's back-pack that he always traveled with; grabbed it and stuffed the magazines in among the clothes that Jack had brought with him from Wyoming. He pulled the back pack on, settling the straps comfortably, and returned to Jack. Once again he tried to rouse him, and got no response.

"All right, Bud. You wanna sleep; you sleep. But you and me are gettin out a here." He whispered as he hefted Jack up over his shoulder. It took a minute to get him balanced. Once he was ready, he headed for the door.

"I hope Lureen's a sound sleeper, Jack; cause I'd hate to have to confront her." He eased the door open and checked out the hallway. It was dark and deserted, but there were night lights scattered about, giving off just enough light so he could see where he was going as he crept down the stairs. He made his way back toward where he hoped the kitchen would be; found it, unlocked the back door, and entered the garage.

It was a huge, three-bay affair holding a Silver Mercedes, a red Corvette, and Jack's truck. He made his way over to the truck, unlocked it with Jack's keys, wrestled Jack into the back seat, tossed Jack's back-pack in, and closed the door as quietly as he could. He took a few minutes to see if he could open the garage door himself, and found it locked. He dug around in the glove compartment and found Jack's opener. He hated to use it, but he had no choice. They needed Jack's truck!

He climbed in behind the wheel, started the engine, reached out the side window and pressed the opener. The door slid up. The noise sounded incredibly loud to him, but he didn't waste any time checking to see if anyone heard. He backed out quickly, and drove off down the street, and around the corner. He backed into the alley until he came to his that whoever owned his pickup before he bought it, had added a tow hitch to the front; he got out and hitched it up behind Jack's.

He made it all the way to Amarillo before stopping at a road-side rest stop for some much needed sleep. He checked on Jack to make sure he was okay, then grabbed a few hours of sleep in the front seat, before getting back on the road again. He hit a drive-through, ordered two breakfasts and sat in the parking lot and ate. He tried to get Jack to eat something, but all Jack wanted to do was sleep. He did rouse a time or two, and Ennis managed to get a few sips of coffee down him, but Jack slept most of the way home.

It was early evening when he pulled up in the Twist's driveway, and honked the horn a couple of times. The Twists came out, and they too tried to rouse Jack. They managed to get a few words out of him, but that was about it. They wanted to keep him there, but Ennis said no. He told them they were welcome to come over, and spend as much time with Jack as they wanted, but he was taking Jack home.

Mr. and Mrs. Twist both followed him; Mrs. Twist taking one side of Jack while Ennis had the other side as they got him inside. Jack was capable of walking, somewhat; but didn't say anything much. He mostly just answered questions with one or two words. Ennis got him straight into bed; and he was out like a light again.

While Ennis got a pot of coffee going, Mr. Twist seated himself at the table, and Mrs. Twist paced back and forth wringing her hands.

"Why don't he wake up?" Mrs. Twist moaned. "It's not like him to sleep like this."

"He always could sleep like the dead." The old man said. "Any time, any place."

"They been givin him these." Ennis pulled the prescription bottles from his jacket pocket, and placed them on the table.

Mrs. Twist picked them up and read the labels. "I don't know what any a these are." She said. "But if they were givin him all five a these, that would explain why he's sleepin so much."

"That's what I was thinkin." Ennis said as he handed each of the senior Twists a cup of coffee. "I figured we'd give it a day or two, and if he ain't full awake by then, we'll take him, and all a these pills, to the hospital."

The Twists stayed the first night until mid-night; then the old man insisted that they go home. They returned early the next morning. Mrs. Twist sat on the side of the bed, constantly talking to Jack, while Mr. Twist spent most of his time relaxing in front of the fire place, commenting on their accommodations, and helping himself to more coffee. He commented on the stove; couldn't believe that was their old stove. He commented on what a small area they had taken in; insisted that they should have made the entire barn into living quarters, instead of just the one small area. That way they could have made a couple of bedrooms instead of having just one large living area. Ennis explained to him that they needed the barn for the horses, and that their quarters were only temporary until they could re-build the house that had come down.

It was two full days before Jack woke up enough to actually start talking and making any sense. He wasn't really sure what had happened, but he knew that it had happened as soon as he got there. Lureen had offered him a cup of coffee that had tasted funny to him. He remembered feeling dizzy, and seeing some people there. He was vaguely aware that they were doctors. He remembered hearing them arguing with Lureen, but didn't know what they were arguing about. That's about all he remembered.

"We should call the police!" Mrs. Twist suggested as Jack sat at the table picking at his breakfast. "She shouldn't be allowed to get away with somethin like this. She needs to be put in jail."

"No, Momma; no." Jack argued. "I just wanna forget it. It would kill Bobby if anythin happened to Lureen."

"You sure you just wanna let this go, Bud?" Ennis asked. "I got all a those bottles a pills they were givin you, so we got proof."

"I'm home now. That's all that matters." Jack insisted. "If she don't come across with divorce papers within the next few weeks, I'll find me a lawyer and file in Gillette. I won't never go back to Texas ever again."

"You ought to get a lawyer anyway, take her to court. You should sue her, take every penny she's got." The old man insisted.

"No, Dad; no. I just wanna forget it happened." Jack scraped the last of his scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and bacon from his plate and downed them.

"I wouldn't mind a couple three a them eggs, bacon and potatoes, and some toast myself." The old man said as he helped himself to another cup of coffee. "Need more coffee. The pot's empty." He said before sitting back down at the table.

"John!" Mrs. Twist admonished. "You already had breakfast at home."

"Yeah, but I didn't have no bacon, eggs and potatoes; did I. All you fixed was oat meal. A man needs a better breakfast than that mush."

"Sorry, but that was the last a the eggs." Ennis said, but did get up and got more coffee going.

Mrs. Twist and Jack were talking when Mr. Twist came up to the stove and spoke to Ennis in a low voice. "So you're the woman in this relationship then, doin the cookin and all? I always figured that'd be Jack." He spoke quietly so that only Ennis heard him.

"Old man, you are sorely tryin my patience. I think it's time you went home – now." Ennis hissed out just as quietly.

Mr. Twist stuck his coffee cup in the sink angrily. "Time to go, woman. We can't sit around here all day."

"Oh... yes, of course." She stood. "Thank you so much for lettin us hang around until Jackie was back on his feet." She smiled at Ennis. "I can see that he's in good hands." She turned to Jack, gave him a hug, and told him to take it easy.

As they were exiting through the front of the barn, Mr. Twist noticed the old tractor they'd been working on. "You haven't sold that old thing for scrap yet?"

"Why would we sell it now we're about to get it runnin?" Ennis asked.

"Runnin? Not in a million years! That tractor won't never run again. It ain't nothin but a hunk a junk."

"Well it's our hunk a junk, and it'll be runnin sweet as can be. Once we we get out implements bought, we won't have any need to be borrowin yours." Ennis said and gave the old man a look.

The old man gulped, and stared at him. He knew that if they didn't need his tractor, they would have no need to keep up with their deal of doing his work for him in trade. He kept his mouth shut and climbed into his truck, while Jack held the door and gave his mom a hand getting in.

"You okay, Bud?" Ennis asked as they walked back inside.

"I guess." Jack said. "What I need most right now is a bath and some clean clothes."

"I'll put some water on to heat." Ennis said.

"Thanks." Jack said as he fumbled in his drawer for some clean clothes.

x x x x

After his clean-up, they sat in front of the fireplace quietly for some time.

"What do you suppose her plans were?" Jack asked. "I mean... surely she must have known that I'd wake up sooner or later?"

"I don't know, Bud." Ennis shook his head. "Did you tell her you weren't gonna stay? That you were comin back here right after the divorce?"

"No! I didn't get a chance to say much of anythin. Once I got inside, she offered me a cup of coffee and I drank it right down. I noticed it tasted a little different, but she never was much of a cook. I just figured it was one a those designer coffees that she gets now and then."

"She didn't say nothin? She wasn't mad or anythin?" Ennis asked.

"No. She just said she had a pot of coffee on, and I followed her into the kitchen. She asked about the trip and I told her it was long, but that was about it. She poured me a cup, I drank it, and the lights went out. After that... there is only a vague memory... more like a dream... that there were doctors there. Or some men that Lureen was talking to. It seemed like one was a doctor... But that part... I don't know if it was real or if I dreamed it."

"Well, there must a been some men there. I doubt she could a got you up the stairs and into those silk pajamas by herself."

"Silk pajamas?"

"Uh huh." Ennis gave a little half-grin. "You slept in that kind a thing?"

"Hell no! She'd buy me stuff like that, but I _never_ wore 'em." Jack grimaced. "That's what I was wearin when you found me? No kiddin?"

"Yep. Some blue silky stuff. It come off easy enough, but it was harder than hell gettin you dressed in normal clothes."

"I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you for what you did for me." He turned to face Ennis. "God only knows what she had in mind."

"Don't matter now. You're home." Ennis linked arms with him.

"I am. Home for good. And if I ever even think about goin to Texas again; I want you to shoot me."

Ennis huffed out a little laugh. "Soon as your head gets good and cleared a any cob-webs, we need to find a lawyer. Maybe we can find one who will accept payments. We'll have to get out and find work now – at least until we can get him paid off. You gotta get legally un-hitched from her as soon as you can, before she comes up with any more fancy ideas."

"I wonder what she told Bobby?" Jack's eyes glazed over as he thought about his son and wondered if he knew what had happened.

"She probably told him about the same thing she told your momma; that you were sick, and she was takin care a you."

"Son of a bitch!" Jack got up and started to pace. "No wonder I never got no divorce papers in the mail. I thought all I'd have to do is sign 'em and that would be it. Now we're all the way back to square one."

"Now we got proof though a what she done to you. We got all them medicine bottles. We can show exactly what it was she was givin you." Ennis said.

"I don't know if that will help anythin or not. We probably should have gone to the hospital first thing and got a blood test to prove that all that junk was in me." Jack worried.

"That's my fault." Ennis apologized. "I figured if we took you in, and they saw all these pill bottles, they'd think you was a druggie or somethin; maybe even call the cops. I thought it was best to just let you sleep it off."

"You did right, Ennis. I wouldn't a wanted to go to a hospital. If you told 'em what really happened, they'd a called the cops for sure; and I don't want any cops involved. It would hurt Bobby too much. He adores his momma."

"All right then." Ennis gave him a hug. "Soon as you feel up to it, we'll start lookin for work, and a lawyer."

"Lawyer first." Jack reasoned. "Because if we can find the right one, we can get him to agree to whatever he can get from Lureen to pay his expenses; and we won't have to look for work."

"You gonna ask Lureen for money?" Ennis was appalled.

"No! All I want from her is a divorce. But lawyers can sue for divorce, and ask for his legal fees to be paid by the person he's suing."

"No kiddin? That'd be great." Ennis brightened a bit.

"Yeah; it would. I don't want us gettin thousands a dollars in debt just to get me unhitched."

"I didn't know lawyers could do that. I remember I had to pay half a what the lawyer charged to get me free a Alma. It took me months to get it paid off; but it was worth every penny."

"It's done all the time when one a the people gettin divorced has a lot a money. I think we should get after it right away. Why don't we head on over to mamma's. She's got a phone book for Gillette. We can find us a lawyer and call and make an appointment."

"You sure you're up to it, Bud? It can wait another few days."

"I'm fine; I don't wanna wait. Let's do it now."

"Bud, there's one more thing here we gotta think about."

"What's that." Jack asked as he was pulling on his coat.

"What I did. It was illegal. I could get into trouble for breakin into your house."

"Okay, yeah; I get that. But compared to what Lureen did... I don't think you'll get into any trouble. We'll talk to the lawyer about it."

"Isn't there some way we can... I don't know... just not mention that part a things?" Ennis asked.

"We gotta tell 'em everythin, Ennis. I mean everythin about what happened. What she did to me, and how you saved my life."

Ennis grimaced, put his coat and hat on; all the while wondering how much jail time he could get for breaking and entering.

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Don't be foolish about this now, Jackie. You got a golden chance here to grab a big chunk a cash money. She needs to pay for what she done!" Mr. Twist yelled at his son.

"No, Dad. No!" Jack insisted. "I don't want her money. All I want is to be free from the marriage. Period!"

"That's just damn foolish. She done you a wrong – a big wrong, Jackie. She could go to jail for what she done! It ought to be worth it to her to come up with a nice settlement." The old man insisted.

"That's not gonna happen, Dad. I wouldn't take her money even if she offered it; and she has offered me lots of very expensive things over the years; given me credit cards, and never once asked me to pay for 'em. She's paid for everything from the day I first met her. That's the way she liked it. And I was more than willin to go along with it cause I was dead broke. But everythin is different now. I saved up enough money from my own earnings to buy that ranch, and I'm on my own now. All I want from her is a clean break. She owes me that much."

"She certainly does, Son." Mrs. Twist put her two cents in.

"Ask the boyfriend there." The old man gestured toward Ennis. "You can tell by the look on his face he don't like what's goin on here. I'll bet you agree with me on this; don't you? Just think about it a minute or two. With a big wad a cash money, you could get you a house built on that ranch a yours; maybe even a herd. Why throw all a that away?"

Jack looked over at Ennis. "What do you think?"

"I wouldn't take a dime from her." Ennis said loud and clear.

"I have absolutely no intentions of taking anythin from her, but her signature on some divorce papers."

Jack got up from the table, and took his coffee cup to the sink. "We'll let you know what the lawyer has to say after our meetin."

Ennis took his empty cup to the sink as well, and the two of them left.

x x x x

"You need to talk some sense into him, Roberta. It'd be crazy to just let this thing go. She's probably worth millions. It wouldn't hurt her none to pay for what she did."

"I will not!" She said, and left the table. "I happen to agree with Jackie. What she did was wrong, but to put her in prison is somethin else again. She's been mighty good to Jackie all these years. And she must love him if she wants him to stay with her bad enough to do somethin like this."

"Bullshit!" The old man spat out. "She just figures she bought and paid for him, and he belongs to her. That ain't love. People like her need to be taught a lesson. If Ennis hadn't gone down there and got him, we might not a ever seen him again."

"That's the one thing you've said that I agree with. We have Ennis to thank for bringin our son home to us. We need to be grateful for that, and forget all the other nonsense." Mrs. Twist removed her apron and headed for her sewing room.

"Good mornin," Jack greeted Freddie Wilkens, Attorney at Law. They shook hands over the desk while Jack introduced Ennis. "This here is Ennis Del Mar. I asked him to come with me this mornin cause he's my witness. You probably wouldn't believe my story if I didn't have him here to tell his part a what happened."

"All right." Mr. Wilkens said as he pulled a yellow legal pad out of his desk drawer. "I understand you're wantin a divorce?"

"Yes sir."

"So how long were the two of you married?"

Jack gave the date, Lureen's full legal name, and address where they lived in Childress. He filled him in briefly on their life in Childress, and his decision several months ago to move back up to Wyoming, and get divorced.

The attorney took notes as Jack spoke.

Jack produced the letter Lureen had written to him, about their hearing scheduled for December twenty-seventh, and that he needed to be there.

"This is nonsense." The attorney said after scanning the letter. "First of all, there would be no court activity on that date. Most court houses close down from the second week of December, through to the second week of January except for emergencies. And second, there's no reason at all that you would have to be there in person as long as you weren't contesting anything."

"Well, I figured it was because her financial situation is pretty complicated. She owns all kinds a properties, and a farm machinery business, plus there's a couple a trust funds, and a lot of assets involved."

"It's all in her name?"

"Uh huh. It all come to her from her folks and grandparents."

"And she didn't want to part with any of it?"

"I didn't want none of it. I told her that when I called her, and talked about a divorce. I told her all I wanted was my savings, which I already had, and my own personal stuff – my truck, campin equipment, clothes. She said she'd take care a everythin, and I trusted her to do it. I guess I should a known better."

"Do you have a copy of the divorce settlement?"

"No; she didn't never send me anythin. I figured I was already divorced; up until I got that letter tellin me I had to go to Childress for the hearin."

"I take it, you didn't have a lawyer?"

"That's right. I didn't figure I needed one. She said she'd handle it, and I figured that would be that."

"That's dangerous thinking for somethin this important." The attorney warned him.

"Boy, you got that right." Jack shook his head and went on with his story.

"There's not a lot more that I can tell you, and I'm gonna let Ennis tell you what happened next. But first I gotta ask you – what we tell you is strictly confidential; isn't it? I mean... if somethin that wasn't strictly legal was done, you won't go tellin the cops; will you?"

"Well now, that depends." The attorney leaned back in his chair, and eyed the two men in front of him. "Just how 'not strictly legal' was this thing that happened?"

"Breakin and enterin." Ennis said. "I did it, and I'd do it again, if I had to."

The attorney thought about it for a moment after scribbling something down on his tablet. "What exactly was it you took?"

"Just Jack. I got him out a there and brought him home." Ennis said.

"Oh." The attorney was a little taken aback. "He didn't want to go with you?"

"That's not the way it was." Jack got back into the conversation. "We need to back up a little bit here. You see, Ennis and me, we've known each other since we were kids – teen agers. We always talked about goin in on a ranch together, but we each went our separate ways; he got married and was livin in Riverton; and I got married and was livin in Childress. But each time I came up for a visit with my folks, Ennis and I'd go off huntin, or fishin, and still talk about that ranch we'd like to have someday. When I decided I'd finally had my fill a Texas, I had saved up enough money to actually do it. Ennis had been divorced for several years, his two kids were off on their own, just like my son was; so he agreed to go in on it with me.

"We been workin our asses off gettin the place livable, cleaned up, and ready to start a herd; when all a this came up. I didn't wanna go down to Texas, but it was Christmas, and figured I'd get a chance to see my son before he took off for school again, and there were a few things I wanted to get that I'd left behind. I had some cash money under my mattress that I'd told Ennis about, and I wanted to get it."

"Under your mattress? Why there? Wouldn't your wife have noticed it when she changed the sheets?" The attorney asked.

"No. I changed the sheets on my own bed. Lureen and me, we had separate bedrooms. I took care a my own bedroom.

"I see. And you don't believe in banks?"

"I do; but mostly I used that for things like any big money I came across; like bonuses, commissions, stuff like that. My monthly paychecks, I usually just cashed, and stashed the money in my room."

"Okay." The lawyer raised his eyebrows a bit, but let it pass. "So did you collect this money when you got down there?"

"No. I didn't have a chance. I got there, and she said she had a pot of coffee goin, so we went into the kitchen, sat down, and I drank the cup of coffee she handed me. I now know that coffee was spiked. Ennis can tell you what happened next, 'cause that's the last thing I remember clearly."

The attorney turned his attention to Ennis.

"Well, Jack and me, we had all kinds a plans for what we were gonna do with the ranch. He told me about the cash that he wanted to get, and figured we'd use it to buy us some stock. There was a big stock show due shortly, and we was gonna go." Ennis stopped for a breath. "I went over to his folks place for Christmas dinner, and we were hopin he'd call. His momma was sayin that he always called her on Christmas. When the call came, it wasn't Jack, it was Lureen. I could tell his momma was gettin all upset, so I went over to her, and she motioned me to come closer so I could hear what Lureen was sayin. She was sayin that Jack was sick, that he'd had some kind a break-down, and they were thinkin a sendin him off to some hospital in Dallas."

"You were ill?" The attorney asked Jack.

"No!" He answered. "Tell him the rest." He told Ennis.

"Mrs. Twist got the doctor's name, and wrote it down. She looked real scared and said what I was thinkin – that Jack was in real trouble. She didn't believe for a minute that Jack had a breakdown like Lureen said, cause he was torn between bein up here in Wyomin with his folks and down there with her and Bobby. We both knew that wasn't true."

"Tell him what you did; what you found when you got there." Jack prompted.

"Well Jack had told me a little about the layout a his house, where his room was, and the window looked out over the back patio and how he used to sneak out a that window, climb down the trellis, and go out after Lureen was asleep. I figured if he could get out that window, I could probably get in it." He looked at the attorney closely to see how he was reacting. "So I got in my truck and drove down there to Childress. I found his house, drove into the back alley and parked. It was easy enough to find; the patio and trellis were right where he said they were. I climbed up and tried the window and it was locked. I thought it might be, so I brought along my glass cutter. I cut a circle by the lock, stuck my hand inside and unlocked it."

"So that's the 'breakin and entering' you were talking about?" The attorney asked.

"Uh huh." Ennis nodded. "Jack was dead to the world. I couldn't wake him for nothin." He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out the five prescription bottles and lined them up on the attorney's desk. "This is what I found on his nightstand."

The attorney picked them up and read the labels. "I have no idea what these are for." He turned to Jack. "Did you take these?"

"Not willingly. I figured she must have put some in that coffee I drank because I no sooner finished the cup then the lights went out. I didn't wake up again until days later, after Ennis brought me home."

"So how did you get him out of there?" The attorney asked Ennis.

"I saw his bag that he'd taken down there, so I picked it up, got him dressed, and then I remembered the money he told me about. I found it under the mattress and stuffed it in his bag, along with his wallet that was sittin on the dresser. His keys were there too, so I grabbed them. I slung Jack over my shoulder, and took the stairs down to the kitchen, and out to the garage where I found Jack's truck. I put Jack in, and got the hell out a there."

"And you have no memory of any of this?" The attorney asked Jack.

"I don't remember nothin after I drank that coffee when I first got there – until I was home again and momma was there tryin to get me to eat somethin."

"So how many days are we talkin here?"

"I got down there about ten o'clock on the evenin of December 23rd." And to Ennis he asked. "What day did you pick me up?"

"Christmas night; guess it must have been early mornin of the twenty-sixth cause it was around three o'clock in the mornin."

"Anything else?" He asked, looking from Jack to Ennis, and back again.

"Nope. That's it." Ennis said.

"And you didn't take anything that wasn't Jack's?"

"No sir! 'Cept for those pills. Jack don't take pills; 'cept for some Tylenol once in a while." Ennis assured him. "But those bottles all got Jack's name on 'em so I took 'em."

"I don't suppose you went and got a blood test once you got home?" The lawyer asked.

"I didn't think a that. I just wanted to get him home. He was wakin up some so I knew he was gettin better."

"I hate hospitals." Jack said. "He knows that. He wouldn't a taken me to a hospital unless I was dyin or somethin."

"Well it would have been nice to have a blood sample for solid proof before we go to the authorities."

"No; I don't wanna do that." Jack insisted. "I don't wanna press charges against Lureen. That would just kill Bobby. All I want here is a divorce."

The lawyer studied him for some time. "What she did was highly illegal. I really do think you should press charges."

"Absolutely not!" Jack was adamant.

"All right. If you're sure you wanna go that route. You'd get a much better settlement if she had some jail time hanging over her head."

"I don't want her put in jail! Period! Bobby adores her."

"All right, all right." The lawyer shook his head and continued. "What kind of settlement are you thinking of here?"

"Nothin. I don't want none a her money. I got my money that I earned myself and saved up. I got my truck, my campin gear, and that's all I want. I want the marriage to be ended legally, and I want her to have to pay for that – whatever legal fees there might be. Can you do that?"

The lawyer sat there with his mouth open. "You're not asking for a settlement? After what she did to you?"

"That's right. All I want is my own stuff. Nothin a hers. Nothin! I do want her to pay for all the legal fees though. That's it."

"But... but..." The lawyer sputtered. "She's could be worth... millions. You could get... half of her estate... easily!"

"Don't want it. It's for her and Bobby! I don't want no part a it." Jack insisted. "I just wanna be free, and I wanna make sure that Ennis don't get in no trouble for what he done. Maybe you can get that put into the papers, if you have to mention it at all. She don't file charges on him, and I won't press charges on her. Somethin like that. Can it be handled that way?"

"Uhhh... sure. I'm sure we can address that. What he did was a minor offense compared to what she did. I'm sure she'll have a lawyer representing her. He'll explain to her if she gets nasty about it, and tries to cause any trouble for you. We'll get that all put into the paperwork."

"Great!" Jack said. "How soon can you make all of this happen?"

"It's going to take some time, as I intend to make a thorough job of it." The lawyer said. "First I'll do some investigating. We'll find out everything we can about this doctor and his hospital. If there's any dirt to find on him, we'll find it. Once we can prove he's dirty, that'll be a big point in our favor."

"How is that going to help anything?" Jack asked.

"If we can prove he's the kind of doctor that carries out... shall we say, unorthodox procedures; all of that will go against her."

"And all a this investigatin; how much is that gonna cost me? All I want here is a simple divorce." Jack asked.

"When there's this much money involved, nothing is simple. When we send them our very first letter asking for a divorce, I want to have all our facts in place. We make our demands for a no fault quickie divorce, exactly as you requested. Once they see that we know exactly what they did, and have the proof to back it up, they will see that they have no choice but to agree to our terms. And you won't have to pay a dime. It'll all be covered when I send them my bill."

"What if they don't? What do we do then?" Ennis asked.

"Negotiate. Find out what their plans are. Quite frankly, I don't see that they've got a leg to stand on. They can make trouble if they want to; but we can make a lot more trouble for them. In fact, I might just put a clause in that if they refuse to sign, and agree to what we want; we'll not only go to the authorities with our proof of what they did, but we'll also amend our petition for divorce, and ask the court to grant us a huge settlement. That'll scare the pants of of them."

"Lureen's not one to scare easily." Jack said.

"We'll see how brave she is when her estate is threatened as well as her freedom. If her lawyer is any good at all, he'll advise her to sign."

"And if she does sign?" Jack asked.

"Then it's only a matter of waiting for a court date, once we get the paperwork back. That's usually a couple of months. So with the investigating, paperwork, and all; I'm guessing it'll be some time this summer before it's all over and done with."

"And you'll see to it that she pays for everything?" Jack asked.

"Oh yes. She's going to pay. That's a given." The attorney assured him.

"Okay then; I guess we're through here." Jack stood up, reached out a hand for a shake. "You'll keep me posted; let me know if you need anything?"

"I certainly will." The lawyer shook hands with both of them, and walked them to the door.

x x x x

It took exactly three weeks and three days before they got a message to call the attorney. Once Jack got off the phone, he let out a **"Yeeee Haawwww!"**

"Good news?" Ennis asked as Mrs. Twist stood nearby waiting to hear it too.

"He got the papers back this morning, all signed! She agreed to everything! No questions asked, no negotiating needed." Jack announced.

"Oh thank goodness!" Mrs. Twist said, and gave him a hug.

Ennis stood near by, smiling; knowing he'd get his chance to congratulate Jack properly once they were alone.

"So it's all over then?" Mrs. Twist asked.

"Well, we still have to go to court. He's filing for a court date today, and will let us know as soon as it's set. With her agreein to everythin, there shouldn't be no problem." Jack assured her.

"Any chance she could change her mind between now and then?" Ennis asked.

"I guess she could, but then we re-file and ask for half her estate. She wouldn't wanna risk that." Jack said.

"That's what you should a done." The old man gave his opinion. "Why you'd walk away from all a that money, I'll never understand."

"That's exactly right, Dad. It's somethin you'll never understand." Jack grinned, nodded to Ennis that he was ready to leave, and kissed his momma on the cheek.

"You mark my words, Jackie. The time will come when you'll regret this stupid decision for the rest a your life." The old man shook a finger at him.

"Well, it's my life, Dad. I'm gonna live it the way I want to. NOT the way you think I should."

Six weeks later Jack Twist was a free man.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Spring is a lovely time on a ranch. Busy; but lovely. Everything is greening up, it's time for plowing and planting. And that spring they stayed particularly close to one another. The fear of almost losing each other was ever on their minds. They tried not to think about it, and they never talked about it, except for one evening, just before sleep, Jack was lying with his head on Ennis' shoulder, with an arm and a leg slung over Ennis, and he said, "I still can't believe you drove all that way down to Childress, broke into the house, and got me out a there. I wish I could remember it." Ennis just gave him a little squeeze and told him not to think about it any more.

They checked out their rabbit traps, and got them set up and ready. They even made several more, and set them up at different places around the ranch. Several trips were made out into the nearby woods to scavenge for any trees that had fallen during the winter. It gave them a nice start on their never-ending chore of gathering fire wood for both ranches.

Their freezers were still more than half full, but food was always a priority. They fished when they could; ate some, gave some to the folks, and froze the rest. Whenever they went into town, they'd always stop at the dump on the way home. One trip, they were thrilled to find four boxes of canning jars. Though canning was a hot, tiresome chore; it provided them with plenty of fruit and vegetables throughout the year. They enlarged their vegetable garden; planted more of the items that they liked most, and a few things that they had forgotten to plant the year before. Then they added a variety of berry bushes.

Pastor Harris called on them now and then for chores he needed done, and paid them. Word got around that they were willing to do chores at a reasonable price, so they had a little income. One farmer who needed help with a downed fence, paid them off with three laying hens, and a dozen baby chicks. They fixed up one of the stalls in the barn for a temporary pen for them until they could get a proper chicken coop built. Most of the wood it took, came from scrap wood, but the chicken wire, they had to buy.

Their first trip into the fur buyer that spring, brought them three hundred dollars. Enough to get the last part they needed for the tractor. Now it was time to put it back together, and see if their investment of time, labor, and money had been worth it.

"Jesus, Jack. All the money we spent on these parts – if it don't work – all a that will be wasted!" Ennis fretted.

"It'll work, Cowboy."

It was a labor of love when the two of them started putting the tractor back together again. "Oh, I hope it works." They both kept saying.

When the engine fired up, the two of them howled in celebration; dancing around the barn like a couple of nuts, unable to contain their happiness.

"Now we don't need to borrow the old dad's tractor any more!" Jack howled.

"Now don't get too excited just yet." Ennis warned. "We don't have any of the implements that we're gonna need, so we're still gonna need to borrow his. And, once we have both tractors fitted out, we can use 'em at the same time, and get done twice as fast."

"Oh yeah." Jack nodded. "That's right. We still need a plow, mower, hay rake, baler, and blade. And those things ain't cheap."

"Well maybe we can find 'em used, or maybe trade somethin for 'em." Ennis suggested.

"That'd be good. I could probably make some phone calls and get 'em for us at a reduced price; but even at that, they're costly." Jack said.

"What did your dad do with his old implements?"

"I don't know? I don't remember seein 'em around though. Have you?"

"Nah; and we been all over that place." Ennis shrugged.

"Knowin him, he probably sold 'em off for scrap metal." Jack said.

"Then why would he a held on to the tractor?" Ennis asked.

"I got no idea." Jack shook his head.

x x x x

"Sold 'em all for scrap." The old man said as the four of them sat drinking coffee.

"Then how come you held onto the tractor?" Jack asked.

"Cause they wouldn't take it unless I stripped it. They didn't want the tires, or battery and stuff; just the body; even then, they offered me next to nothin for it. I told 'em to go to hell. Now you got it stripped down, you might as well sell it. Won't get you much, so don't get your hopes up."

"We're not gonna sell it, Dad. We got it runnin. Now we're lookin for implements for it."

The old man's jaw dropped. "The hell you did!"

"We did." Ennis assured him. "It purrs like a kitten now."

The old man fell silent, and simply stared at them.

"It's a shame you sold off all a those old ones." Jack said. "I know they were in pretty bad shape last time I saw 'em, but we might could a fixed 'em up."

"Maybe we can find some used. I'd hate to have to pay full price for 'em." Ennis commented.

"If we have to pay full price for 'em; we'll do it. What ever we need, we'll find a way to get it." Jack grinned. "Just look what we've got done in the time we been here; and it cost us next to nothin."

"We did get a lot done for just one year." Ennis nodded. "Let's hope this comin year works out the same."

Mrs. Twist beamed; Mr. Twist scowled.

x x x x

End of summer...

"How much we got saved up?" Ennis asked after Jack finished working on balancing their check book.

"Besides our 'rainy day' savings; we got a little over twelve-hundred." Jack said as he stashed his paperwork in the top drawer of their five-drawer chest.

"Twelve-hundred? No kiddin?" Ennis finished his coffee and rinsed out the cup. "Most a that was rabbit money too. I figured we'd make a nice steady little summer income off a them rabbits, but I never figured it'd be this much."

"I know." Jack agreed and joined him on the couch. "I figured we'd make enough off of 'em for gas money, and maybe some groceries; but I never dreamed we'd make this much."

"We been real lucky with the little jobs we've been able to find. It's been enough to keep us goin without havin to look for work." Ennis said.

"We've always got that option; but right now, I think we're doin exactly what we've always want to do – ranch work." Jack leaned his head against Ennis' shoulder.

"You tired?" Ennis slipped an arm around Jack's waist.

"Yeah, a little." He sighed. "But I gotta tell you, I'm beginnin to really enjoy hittin the dumps for stuff. We almost always find somethin we can use, and it's all free!"

"Uh huh. People throw away all kinds a good stuff." Ennis said. "One time, me and K.E. was diggin through a pile. It looked like someone was movin, cause there was all kinds a household junk there. And we found a bunch a canned stuff. We couldn't believe our luck."

"No kiddin? Weren't you afraid to eat it?"

"Nah. It hadn't been there all that long cause none a the cans were rusted or nothin. It wasn't a whole lot, maybe a dozen or so cans. We was happy to have it."

"I'll bet." Jack shook his head in understanding. "When I was travelin with the rodeo, that was some real hard times. There were about five or six a us young guys that were seldom ever in the money. We had to do some real scrapin to keep ourselves fed. We used to pool whatever money we could come up with for gas money to get from town to town; and if we had any left over, it went to food. I remember this one time, I found a folded up twenty-dollar bill. We argued for over an hour what we should do with it. We could go to a burger place and get us each a burger, or we could go to the grocery store and buy stuff. We ended up going to the grocery store. That twenty-dollar bill bought us a jar of peanut butter, five a those big cans a soup, and a couple boxes a crackers. The five a us ate for nearly a week off a that twenty-dollar bill. We'd a been real grateful to find a dozen cans a food. So how did you manage to open 'em? Did you have a can opener?"

"Well, we didn't at first; but one time me and K.E. went into this grocery store. I asked him why we were goin to a store when neither of us had a dime. He told me to stay up front, and look through the candy like I was gonna buy somethin. He went on in to the back a the store like he needed to use the rest room. When he came back a few minutes later, he nodded to me, and we left. When we got outside, and walked some distance away, he showed me two cans a Spaghettios, and a can opener that he had stuck in his jacket pockets. I remember, I was real shocked by what he done; but we hadn't eaten anythin in a couple a days, so I ate it down quick enough."

"Jeez. I'd a been too scared to steal from a store." Jack said. "Though we did take stuff from some vegetable gardens now and then when we come across one. And one time from this apple orchard, we got a bunch a apples."

"We both seen some real hard times." Ennis nodded. "I guess that's what makes it easy to get along with next to nothin now."

"Uh huh." Jack nodded in agreement.

"Though, you've had it pretty good for a lot a years, Bud. I was really worried you might not be able to do without any more."

"None a that fancy stuff never meant anythin to me, Cowboy. It was all... just a way to get by. My only real goal in life since that summer up on Brokeback was you and me out on a ranch somewhere. I never gave up that dream. Never! Not for one single minute."

Ennis put his head down, and let the truth of those words envelope him. In his heart, he knew that he, himself, had never given up on that dream either. Though he had always just considered it to be a dream. An un-attainable dream. One that he often allowed himself to ponder, on long lonely nights.

"Well... we're together now." He finally managed to find a few words. "It ain't what neither a us imagined, but we're getting by."

"We are for a fact. And we're doin much more than just 'gettin by'." Jack grinned. "We got us a place to live – free and clear, we got our little apartment fixed up here in the barn, we got us a workin tractor now, and soon we'll have the rest a the stuff we need to start workin up a herd."

"I'm hopin we can get us a plow at that auction tomorrow. That's the most expensive thing we need for right now. That way if your dad decides to blow off our agreement, we'd at least have most a what we need to get by without his equipment."

"Yeah, it'd be good to have all right. Even if he don't end our agreement, if we had two tractors goin at one time, we'd get the work done a lot faster." Jack agreed.

"That's what I been thinkin." Ennis yawned. "You about ready for bed?"

"Have I ever turned you down when you asked me that?" Jack grinned.

x x x x

They were able to get the plow and a mower for seven-hundred-fifty dollars. It took two trips to get them home from Gillette, but it was worth it. They were thrilled with their take.

Neither of them got hunting tickets for that fall, so they doubled down on their fishing, and kept a lot more of the rabbits than they did the summer before. When September came around, they got a call from Owen Kent, the guy they hunted for the year before. He wanted them to go hunting for him again. They agreed to do it for half the meat. They ended up with three-hundred-fifty pounds of elk meat. They traded a hundred with Jack's folks for beef, fifty pounds for chicken, fifty pounds for pork, sold off fifty pounds for a hundred dollars, and kept a hundred pounds for themselves.

Their freezers were once again full, and they had enough for a trip to the grocery store to stock up on other things they needed; like coffee, flour, sugar, salt, spices, etc. That, along with the vegetables they got from their garden and canned, kept them well fed.

They checked out the place where they cut firewood the year before, and were hired on again. The work was hard, rough, and dirty; but they did it gladly and without complaint. Sam Miller, the lot owner, appreciated that, and kept them on all winter. When the next spring came around, and they were closing up, the owner made them an offer. He was getting on, pushing eighty now, and wondered if they would be interested in going into business with him. He owned that five acre lot, there in the outskirts of Gillette, where they had their firewood business; and he liked going out and scouting up trees that were down, or making deals to get trees taken down; but he was too old now to do the rest of the work. He said if they would run the lot, and continue what they'd been doing; cutting, stacking, loading, and delivering, they could split the income three ways.

They talked about it on their lunch break, and decided to go for it. It was exactly what they needed. Fall and winter was the only time the job would be full time. Spring and summer they would be needed only when the old man found the trees. Then they would come in, and get them cut and stacked whenever time permitted. They accepted the offer. Two years later, when the lot owner passed away, they discovered he had left the lot/business to the two of them.

They were able to see to their horses, and stop and check on the folks each morning before heading for the lot. So they were able to handle everything easily, and the extra cash came in handy. Now that they had some steady income, they had the electricity turned on out at their barn. The wiring was already there so all they had to do was stop in at Gillette Electric Co., pay the hook up fee, and it was turned on.

Mr. Twist became a little easier to work with. There was no more talk about re-negotiating their deal. It was obvious that he was in no condition to do any ranch work. He no longer harped on how foolish Jack was to give up all that money, or offered his opinions on how they did their work. He'd still grumble now and then, but at such a low volume, they neither heard or cared what he was complaining about.

x x x x

It was the second year before they came across a Humane Society in Casper that had some horses. They got three mares and a foal, and were thrilled. They were now officially a horse ranch.

Ennis opened the barn door, and let the horses out to meander around the corral one snowy morning. He was pleased with the progress their mares had made over the last year since they had been adopted. They'd be ready to breed in the coming year. And their yearling was turning into a real little beauty. He was glad they decided to keep her instead of selling her.

"Brrrrr." Jack came up behind him, nuzzling his nose against Ennis' neck. "Aren't you cold?"

"Nah." Ennis slipped his arm around Jack. "It ain't all that cold out. In the twenties, I'd guess."

"That's cold!" Jack insisted.

"Yeah; some." Ennis agreed, and stepped aside as the yearling was the first to make her way back into the relative warmth of the barn, as the others straggled back in along behind.

"Ready to go in?" Jack asked as he closed and latched the door.

"You bet!" Ennis answered as he led each horse to its stall.

Jack worked up a pot of coffee, while Ennis got a fire going in the fireplace. They made themselves comfortable on the couch.

"What's on your mind, Cowboy?" Jack asked. "Seems like you been doin a lot a deep thinkin lately."

"You're right. I have." Ennis paused a minute before he went on. He turned to face Jack before he continued. "You know... I owe you an apology."

"You do? What for?" Jack turned to face him, puzzled by the thought.

"You were right; ya know. All along... all them years. You were right."

"Um... Well that's good to hear that I was right; but... right about what?" Jack asked.

"You and me. We belong together."

Jack sat, silently staring at him; waiting for him to go on.

"My momma always used to say that I had a one track mind. I get an idea stuck in my head, and nothin could ever change it." He kept his head down as he spoke. It was difficult to look Jack in the eye right then. "Honest to God, Jack. I thought... no; I believed that us livin together would get us killed. I couldn't bear the thought a losin you." He snuck a quick look up at Jack, before lookin back down.

"You havin regrets about us livin together?" Jack asked.

"Regrets, yes; but not about us livin together. That's been perfect! Kinda like a dream or somethin." Ennis continued as he fiddled with his nails. "Somewhere along the line... can't say exactly when, I come to realize that you were right. Most people don't care about our livin arrangements. Don't even seem the least bit curious."

"Most people really do mind their own business." Jack said.

"I can see that now. I just wish I could a seen it back then... all those years... All a those years a misery was all my fault."

"I understood why you were so afraid." Jack reached over and took Ennis' hand in both of his. "A course... if we'd a took off way back then... no tellin where we would a ended up."

"Well, I'm glad we ended up here; in this barn, on this ranch." Ennis nodded.

"Me too." Jack grinned. "So that's what you been thinkin about?"

"Uh huh. That, and I come to the conclusion that you were right about somethin else too. People ought to be able to live the way they want to; long as they aren't breakin no law. And people like us... we ain't breakin no law bein together. So if people don't like it... it's them that got a problem with it... not us."

That was something he thought he'd never hear from Ennis. He was at a loss for words.

"You was right, Jack. And I was wrong." Ennis grimaced. "And I wanted to apologize."

Jack gulped. "There's no need for an apology; but I accept, and I'm glad to hear you believe me now."

"I do." Ennis assured him. "But we still need to be careful."

Jack grinned, "Your momma was right. Some things never change."

"You want me to change?" Ennis asked.

"No, no!" Jack hugged him. "I wouldn't want you to change one single thing."

"Well good. Cause as old as I am, I don't know if I could." Ennis gave a rueful grin as he returned the hug.

"Old? You're not old! You're not but eight months older than me, and I'm just a young fella."

"Ha, ha, ha." Ennis chuckled. "Neither you nor me has seen 'young' in a good long time, Bud."

"We're not either young or old. We're kinda in between. We're in our prime!" Jack insisted.

"Okay, Bud. Whatever you wanna call it." Ennis gave him a kiss. "Whatever it is we're in, I'm just glad that we're in it together."

"Me too, Cowboy. You and me together." Jack scooted a little closer, and placed his head against Ennis' shoulder. "Perfect!"

"Well now, I don't know about perfect." Ennis said as he rested his cheek against Jack's soft hair. "We got a sink full a dirty dishes to be washed; and if we don't get some laundry done, we're gonna be naked; and naked and January don't go too well together."

"Like I said, perfect!"

THE END

e campground, and got to work on it. It took them two days, but it was finally rust free. A quick trip to Home Depot for some Stove Black paint, and Jack got busy painting it, while Ennis worked at putting up the metal sheeting around the area between their pantry and sink. They let the stove sit outside for two days to make sure the paint was good and dry before hauling it back inside and connecting the stove pipe.

"Now we're gonna have to start scrounging up firewood." Jack mock complained.

"That shouldn't be too hard to do." Ennis said as the two of them stood back and admired their stove.

133


End file.
